Through the Looking Glass
by B. D. Legan
Summary: Percy loses his battle against Kronos. 100 years later, Titans rule the world, the gods are gone, and Camp's burnt to the ground. Fate brings a girl and a mirror together. Little does she know, the mirror allows her to commincate with the "lost ones".
1. Class

**Revised on 4/18/11.**

**Yeah, so I'm going through and revising some of my earlier chapters because, quite fankly, they're terrible. I've been writting this story for over a year now, and my writing style has changed dramatically. I've tried not to change anything too much, just correcting grammer and punctuation errrors, and adding in details as appropriate. So yeah. ^_^**

**Enjoy. :)**

* * *

"I pledge allegiance to the Twelve

The divine rulers of the land

To the Lord, and whatever he does

One nation, under Kronos

Indestructible,

With structure and discipline for all."

I sat down in my seat, staring straight ahead, and waited for the instructor to arrive. The class was silent, as we had to be. It was one of the rules, and you never disobeyed the rules.

Finally, our teacher walked in. She was what one might call a 'free spirit', with her crazy hats and neon socks. The rules said that everyone must dress the same, but she never listened. She was literally a bright spot in the otherwise dark days.

"Hello class! How are we all today?" Miss Stevens asked, a bright smile on her freckled face.

We all recited the same thing as we do every day: "We're ready to learn, Miss Stevens."

"Good." She smiled again. Her smile lit up the whole room, and was contagious. She always managed to get everyone in the room happy. "Today is Quiz Day. Here are your quizzes. Please answer each question completely." She handed everyone a quiz and walked back to the front of the room.

I looked down at the paper. Five questions, that was nothing.

Question one: Explain how The Elite Twelve rose to power.

Okay, that one was easy. We've learned this since we first started school. I picked up my pen and wrote, _'Back in the dark days, The Elite Twelve were imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus by the Evil Ones. Our Lord Kronos rose out and vowed to retake his rightful kingdom. In the Final Battle, our Lord Kronos defeated the prophesied one, Perseus Jackson. Perseus, along with all the Evil Ones, were tossed into the depths of Tartarus and their training camp was burned to the ground, along with all its campers. There were no survivors.'_

I reread my answer. Precise and to the point, just like the rules said.

Question two: What made the prophesized one, Perseus Jackson so hard to beat?

Another easy question. I wrote, _'Perseus Jackson dipped himself in the River Styx. This made him invulnerable, except in his Achilles' Heel. Lord Kronos easily found his Achilles' Heel (located in the small of his back) and made a clean cut. Perseus Jackson was killed and his remains were tossed in Tartarus. (see question above)'_

I reread this answer as well. I sounded like a well-oiled machine, but that was what the rules said. The rules allow us to function properly. You couldn't just disobey the rules. It was unthinkable.

Question three: What was one important action that The Elite Twelve took in their first days of office?

This was also an easy question, although I could have chosen multiple answers, this was what I felt was most important. _'The Elite Twelve worked for seven straight days to completely write The Rules. The Rules allow our society to flow smoothly. In the time when the Evil Ones ruled, there was much violence and poverty. Now, everyone is equal. The Rules have greatly improved human life.'_

I looked over this question. The Rules were very important. Did _I _think they were important? Well… I shook my head. _Of _course they were important. Without The Rules, we would be nothing. We wouldn't survive a single day without the rules. _Less thinking, more writing_. I moved on.

Question four: What makes The Elite Twelve so fit to rule?

I wrote automatically, the answer had been pounded into my head since before I remember. _'The Elite Twelve are as follows: Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Theia, Coeus, Phoebe, Mnemosyne, Themis, Crius, Iapetus, Rhea, and Kronos. Oceanus is the ruler of the sea. He is the only one who can control the water. Tethys also rules the seas, right beside her husband. Hyperion is the ruler of the sun. He controls how much heat and light we get. Theia is the "bright one". She helps control her husband's anger, to ensure our safety. Coeus is the thinker. He thinks about all the important decisions and weighs the options. Phoebe controls the moon. She decides when we shall have light once Hyperion makes the sun go out. Mnemosyne controls memory. If she feels you're don't deserve to remember something, she erases it. Themis represents balance and justice. She often decides your fate… if you shall live or die. Crius controls the night sky, the constellations. Iapetus is known as the "piercer". He also rules the underworld, the area where the Evil Ones are. He has to make sure they never escape. Rhea and Lord Kronos are the complete rulers of our land. Lord Kronos controls time.'_

I didn't even bother to reread that question. I knew it _far_ too well.

Question five: Why is our society considered to be perfect?

I sat there for a moment, thinking about what they were asking. Why _was _our society considered to be perfect? Honestly, it wasn't _perfect. _There were flaws. _Everything _has flaws. I looked up at Miss Stevens, who had an eyebrow raised in my direction. I bit my lip and looked back down at the paper. I reread the question and sighed. Sometimes I thought the Elite Twelve weren't so fit to rule… I hadn't told anyone about this, though, except for my best friend, Zacia. His name was irregular and not accepted by society. His parents were just like that, irregular and not accepted. I guessed it ran in the family—Miss Stevens was his aunt.

"You have five minutes to finish up," Miss Stevens chirped.

I picked my pen back up and scribbled down an answer. Miss Stevens came by and collected our quizzes. She stood in front of my desk, her eyebrow raised, reading my quiz. "Curious answer to number five, Miss Kilmore." Then she walked back to her desk.

The bell rang for classes to end so I gathered up my things. On the way out the door, Zac ran up to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and asked, "What did you write on number five? My aunt seemed… I don't know, almost pleased."

I looked at Zacia. He was just like Miss Stevens, with his bright orange hair and his neon socks. "Why don't you dye your hair a more normal color?" I asked, ruffling his spikey locks.

"Why give in to the man?" He looked at me, a half-cocked smile on his pale face. "What I mean to say is that I don't like to be like everyone else, that's all. And anyways, you never answered my question. What did you write on number five?"

"I- I don't remember," I stammered. Now that I thought about it, I had no clue as to what I wrote. It was almost like something else was writing through me. Like there was something else inside of me, controlling my moments. I frowned. What odd thoughts I was having today.

"Right. I'll find out Jemma. I always do." He turned and walked away from me, slinging his purple bag over his back in the process. Suddenly, I had a pounding in my chest; I felt like I was about to explode. My body was burning up with heat, like an atomic bomb had just detonated. Sweat started gathering in puddles on my body. I _had _to get out of here, _now_. I ran to the nearest exit and straight out the school.

As I opened the door, I thought about where I could go. I knew one thing for sure; I was _not_ going back to the "home". The "home" was a place for kids whose parents were no longer here. I had no idea what happened to them, only that they weren't here now.

I took off in a random direction, wanting to be anywhere but here.

After about ten minutes of hard running, I collapsed right beside a big pile of rocks. Once I caught my breath, I looked around. I was sitting at the base of a small mountain of rocks. It looked like a pile of… well, you know. In the distance, you could see a river, frozen in its spot.

For some reason, I knew I was safe here, that nothing bad could reach me. I sighed and laid down to rest, letting my thoughts take me elsewhere.

* * *

**I hope you liked it. Please review. :D**


	2. Pardon My Curiosity

**Revised on 4/18/11.**

**Read on, read on, read until your dreams come true... *sings to the tune of _Dream On_***

* * *

I woke with a start, my heart pounding. I took several deep breaths, trying to steady myself. I had had _another_ bad dream. They just kept getting more bizarre. Like just now, I dreamed about—I snapped my head to the left, listening. I had my breath held, trying to hear who was out there. I could have sworn I heard laughter. After a few minutes, I assumed I was going slightly mad. With a nervous laugh, I let my body untense.

I yawned and looked up at the sky. I guessed Phoebe and Cruis were in a good mood; the moon was shining full and bright and the stars were twinkling, or as close as you could get to twinkling in a frozen sky. I tried to pick out my favorite constellation—one my granny had showed me. Finally, I found it, _Zoe the Huntress_. I smiled, remembering the story of how the brave huntress had been immortalized in the stars.

After a bit more stargazing, I stood up, dreading the walk back to the "home". The Rules specifically say no one was to be outside at night. Kronos knows what sort of scolding I'll get later.

Grumbling, I slowly made my way away from the pile of rocks. As I looked back, I thought of a name for it… Jemma's Fist. If you tilted your head and squinted one eye, it did resemble a fist. At least, it kind of did. Why name it Jemma's Fist? Well, I was Jemma, and I felt I deserved something to be named after me. And what better than a pile of rocks, am I right? I chuckled at my logic.

I continued walking; as soon as the safe feeling had entered, it left me. I stepped back a few feet and the safe feeling returned. I stepped up and _BOOM!_ The same old, bad feeling was back. I looked around to see if I could see anything that might have caused it. There wasn't anything that I could see. The whole land was pretty much barren, desolate. I could see barely these things that looked sort of like the foundations for buildings. There were twelve of them, all arranged in a 'u' shape. I would have figured the Elite Twelve would have ordered that to be cleared. It's rather_ curious_…

I walked the rest of the way to the "home" with no interruptions, just me and my thoughts.

Finally, I reached the door. It was once painted black, but the paint had since faded to a grey and was peeling. I took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. Being so on edge, every little sound sounded like an atomic bomb dropping. I quietly closed the door and tip-toed up the stairs.

"Jemma, get down here. Mr. Howe and I would like to have a word with you," the unmistakable voice of Mrs. Howe, my "mother," and the caretaker of the "home," said.

I growled softly and turned around. Mrs. Howe was standing in the middle of the entrance to the living room in a floral bathrobe, her hair in rollers. "Come on. We haven't all night." Her voice bore a hint of a British accent.

I just stood there, so Mrs. Howe walked up to me and grabbed my arm. She pulled me down the stairs and into the living room, then she sat me down in an uncomfortable chair. The stuffing had worn down, and the back was too stiff for my liking. She sat down beside Mr. Howe. Mr. Howe was a short, balding man and he was my favorite Howe. He actually understood what we felt, and he tried to make our lives better. He was basically the _total _opposite of his wife.

"Mr. and Mrs. Howe, is something wrong?" I asked, batting my thick lashes. I hoped my charm would work on them. I wasn't in the mood for extra chores.

"You know what's going on. Don't feed me that," Mrs. Howe snapped, her thin lips set in a scowl.

"The Rules state that I must be told what I am accused of and then given time to defend myself," I said, blinking my eyes. They were greenish blue. My great-grandma said they looked like the ocean. I wish she were still here, then I could live with her, and not in this dump. Maybe she could tell me what happened to my parents.

"That's in a courtroom. And as you can see," Mrs. Howe said, looking around. She spread her arms out wide, and twirled. "We are not in a courtroom. You are in my house, and you will abide by my rules."

"Calm down, dear. Let Jemma go to bed. She needs to be rested up for classes tomorrow," Mr. Howe said, rubbing his wife's hand. He gave me a small smile.

Mrs. Howe looked at her husband and then back to me. With her nostrils flaring, she said, "Go to bed." Then she stood up and walked out of the room.

Mr. Howe and I sat there for a moment. Then he said, "You'd better get up there." He stood up then said, "Pardon my curiosity, but what were you doing out so late?"

I looked at him. His face was lined from stress, but you could see laugh lines as well. He was someone that I felt I could trust, so I told him about my heat burst. I left out the part about my "safe place," though.

"Well, don't fret about it. It's nothing to worry about. Now go on up to bed." Mr. Howe looked at me one last time and went into his room.

I sighed and walked up the stairs to my room. It wasn't really _my_ room. I shared it with the only other girl in the "home". Her name was Sarah. She had light brown hair and a gentle look about her. She always knew how to make people smile, and had a very caring heart, and even though she was three years younger than me, at thirteen, I regarded her as my equal. There were actually only four kids total at the "home." Donnie was the youngest, at ten. He had sandy blonde hair and a mischievous look. I wouldn't leave my wallet lying around him, if I were you. Lastly, there's Chad. He was fifteen and brown headed. He was big and ugly and liked to pick on everybody. I'd known him long enough to know that he wasn't as tough as he cracked up to be. I've been at the "home" the longest. It'd been eleven years now. Eleven years since that day…

I thought about my day as I climbed into bed and fell asleep, letting sleep take over.

"Jemma, it's 7:30. You need to wake up now!" a soft voice said. I opened my eyes and saw a tan, freckled face and gentle green eyes looking at me.

"Sarah, is it really 7:30?" I asked, jumping out of bed. I grabbed one of my identical grey suits and threw it on. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"I'm sorry," she said. She really did look sorry. She gave me a small smile, one that made her eyes crinkle. "Mrs. Howe is in a bad mood this morning. I wouldn't talk to her if I were you." Sarah walked out of our room.

I grumbled as I skulked out of the room and headed for the bathroom.

In the hallway, Chad was walking towards the bathroom, too. _Oh jeez._ I poured on speed as I ran past Chad and into the bathroom. I quickly shut and locked the door, knowing what Chad might do if I didn't.

"JEMMA! I HAVE TO PEE!" Chad yelled. His voice was higher pitched than normal. A grin lit up my face.

I just laughed as I turned on the faucet. Icy cold water ran out of it. It was kind of weird if you actually thought about it—we had running water even though Lord Kronos froze time. I guessed he liked to be able to take showers…

Once the sink had filled up with the freezing water, I dunked my head into it, wondering why the water didn't feel cold me. It was more like air temperature. Though, it had always been that way. Water didn't really have much effect on me; it wasn't cold, and I didn't get wet unless I wanted to. I stayed submerged in the water for about thirty seconds when I heard Chad bang on the door again. "JEMMA! IF YOU DON'T HURRY, I'M GOING TO USE YOUR ROOM AS MY OWN PERSONAL TOLIET!"

I frowned even though I knew he wouldn't do that. I raised my head out of the water anyways, thinking about how gross that statement actually was. I dried my face and hair and opened the bathroom door. "The throne your highness," I said to Chad, bowing in the process. He ran through the door and slammed it shut. I shook my head and headed down stairs.

I had almost made it out the front door when Mrs. Howe said, "Jemma, come straight home tonight. I'll have a list of chores for you to do, as a punishment for being out past curfew."

"Great," I said as I ran out the door and into the crisp morning air. Actually, this morning the sun was beating down hard on my back and the air was dry. Hyperion was _very_ angry. I wondered what matters the Elite Twelve feuded about. Did they worry about trivial things like the common folk did? It would be interesting to find out.

I walked the rest of the way in peace. When I reached school, Zac walked up to me, a big grin on his face. He was very happy little fellow. Today, he had on a lime green head band and purple skater shoes, in addition to the regulation wear, a grey suit. He wore that head band every day, though. It was like the two were attached. "Zac, do you purposely try to stand out?" I asked. I ask this same question virtually every day, and I always got the same response.

"Yes, yes I do," he said, as always. "Now then, would you please tell me what you put on question five? My aunt wouldn't tell me. She said it was against The Rules to discuss test answers."

"If it's against the rules," I said, shrugging, "then I can't tell you." _I'd tell you if I could remember_, I said to myself. That still bothered me. Why couldn't I remember? Had something truly possessed me?

"Whatever Jem," Zacia said as he walked to his locker, leaving me standing in the yard of the school. The bell rang to go to class, so I headed towards the English room.

"With structure and discipline for all." The class finished saying the pledge.

I scrambled to my seat just as Miss Stevens walked into class.

"Good morning class…" she said, her voice frazzled. Her orange hair was a bit more ruffled than usual, and her accessories were very mismatched—more so than usual, at least.

"Good morning Miss Stevens," the entire class said in perfect unison.

"Okay everyone. Today we are going to be writing an essay."

"What is the topic?" someone asked.

"I was getting there," she said, a stern look on her face. That was one thing that would get her mad—interrupting her. "Your topic is simply, 'What do you think of our society?' You'll want to include how you believe we can improve it, and why. It's a one page essay. You can start now." Miss Stevens sat down at her desk and put her head in her hands. I glanced at Zac. He seemed unconcerned about his aunt, so I got out of my seat and marched up to her.

"Miss Stevens, what's wrong?" I asked, placing a hand on her back.

She looked up at me. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I guess it's just a feeling I have. Now go write your essay." She picked up a book and started reading. _Well, there's the end of that conversation_.

I went back to my seat and picked up a pencil. _Hmm… what do I think of our society?_ I wrote, _'Our society is the best in history. It has been thought out so that there are no flaws. Our Lord Kronos is a just and fair ruler. All of the Elite Twelve are fair and just. We are all very lucky to be living in this place.'_

I reread my first few lines. When I thought about it, did I really agree with it? _No, I didn't_. But, The Rules specifically said that the Elite Twelve are _never_ to be doubted. _Never_.

I looked up at Miss Stevens. She was writing our essay guidelines on the board. Suddenly, she doubled over like someone punched her. With green smoke coming out of her mouth, she said…

* * *

**Thanks for reading. :D Drop me a review, loves. **


	3. My Teacher Gives Me a Prophecy

**Revised on 4/19/11.**

**Prophecy time, babes. ;) It took me almost an hour to write. I just hope it's decent. **

* * *

"Children of the once great twelve,

Shall ban together and begin to delve,

Into the darkest mysteries of another time.

They must rid this world of a terrible crime.

Only with the help from the ones who are lost;

Some of the greatest lives will be cost.

In the end, only one can survive;

And that is where you all will arrive."

The eerie green fog suddenly sucked itself back inside of Miss Stevens as she collapsed in front of the black board, as though it had never come out in the first place. I looked around, wondering if I had just imagined the whole ordeal. I spotted Zac, who was sitting in his seat, completely awestruck. Someone yelled for a nearby instructor to come in, and they did. He called someone, and soon Miss Stevens was being hauled away in a very secure looking van. I didn't remember much else about that day, only that classes were let out early and we were to head straight home. So _of course_, I went to my secret place.

As soon as I crossed the invisible barrier, my muscles began to untense, and I sighed. I was _safe_. Once I got to Jemma's Fist, I took out a notebook and wrote down what Miss Stevens said.

I reread what she said so many times that day, that I could say it backwards and forwards. Something about that whole incident was just… _unsettling_. I had no idea why she had said that, and it seemed like Miss Stevens wasn't even in control of herself when she said it, like she was possessed. I wondered if it was anything like whenever I wrote the answer to the last question on the quiz, just a day ago, and had no recollection of it. It just didn't make _sense_.

With a smile, I watched Hyperion drag the sun chariot across the sky, slowly turning the heavens a multitude of colors, like a fire had lit up in it, exploding into thousands of warm colors. It was truly _breathtaking_.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, and the sky darkened, I realized that I should heading to the "home." I slowly stood up, stretching my back, and started to walk away.

Like a jaguar, I turned back to the rock. I thought I heard someone say something like, "Go get her some water. And alert the counselors." I couldn't hear anything else, though. I looked around to see if anyone else was around; no one that I could see. Was I going crazy?

* * *

I dragged my feet up the steps to the "home's" door, dreading what Mrs. Howe surely had planned for me. Since I was coming home late _again_, there was no telling what I was in for.

I slowly reached up to the door knob, turning it gently, as to not make any noise. It creaked open as I shuffled inside. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Mrs. Howe said, "Where have you been? You were supposed to be home _hours_ ago! You have so many chores to do. Oh, you'll have _even more_ now, young lady. Yes you will." She grinned smugly, then looked at something behind her back, just out of view. "Oh, we've got a new resident here now, too. I think he's your age." She walked into the living room, enabling me to see who was behind her back. My face twisted into a look of surprise.

A tall, lanky, pale figure trundled out from the shadows. His freckled face was streaked with tears, his orange hair disheveled. He looked up at me, his normally electric blue eyes, _stormy_.

"Zacia?" I managed to choke, my mouth gaped open.

He just stood there, still in his grey suit and green head band. Suddenly, he ran up and hugged me. He pulled back quickly and said, "I thought they'd taken you, too."

"What? Who?" I asked, placing my hands on his shoulders. I felt my head tilt to one side in curiosity.

"The same people who took away my aunt from school," he said quietly, looking down at his rainbow sneakers.

"But why are you here? I mean, you don't live with Miss Stevens," I said, raising an eyebrow. _Something just wasn't right._

He took a deep breath then, in a frenzy, said, "When I got home, my house was completely trashed and my parents were gone. They—"

"What do you mean they were gone? Where'd they go?"

He shook his head. "That's just it—I don't know. There was a note tapped to the door that said, _'Taken under Rule 745_.' I got out our copy of The Rules and looked up Rule 745. It turns out," Zac paused and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Rule 745 says that The Elite Twelve have the authority to take anyone who they believe are housing umm… I forgot what word they used." He bit his lip, trying to remember. "Oh, I think it was _heroes_." He nodded. "Yeah, heroes. But it still doesn't make any sense. Who's a '_hero_' in my family?"

I looked into his blue eyes. Even just looking into them, I felt a shock run through my body. I said, "You're the hero."

"Huh?"

"You must be the hero," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "It makes perfect sense. I mean, they took your mom, step-dad, and aunt… but they left you. Don't you find that odd?"

"Well," he muttered.

"Fine. Don't believe me. But I'll prove you wrong. Something isn't right here, and I'm going to find out."

Zac looked at me, a new fire in his eyes. A crooked grin lit up his face, and he said, "I'll help. If it'll get me closer to finding my parents, then let's do it!"

"That'a boy!" I said, patting his back.

He snorted, then asked, "Where do we start?"

"I'm not sure." I thought for a moment. After everything weird that had happened in the psat couple days, where should we start? "Well, I'll take you to my special place. I can't shake the feeling that it's related somehow."

"Your special place? Seriously?" Zacia laughed—his first real laugh in a while.

"Work with me here." I marched past him and up the stairs to my bedroom.

* * *

"Wake up!" a familiar voice whispered, and a hand brushed the hair back from my face.

My eyes fluttered open. Shocking blues eyes looked down at me. "What time is…" I muttered, not even bothering to finish the sentence.

"Four A.M. I couldn't sleep. I thought you could show me your special place now," Zacia said, practically beaming. A nearly blinding smile sat on his face.

I grabbed my pillow and threw it at him. It hit him square in the face. After fighting with the pillow, he asked, "What was that for?"

"Ask me in three hours…" I mumbled as I closed my eyes, trying to get back to my dream. It was a doozy—all I could hear were voices, arguing, _angry_ voices.

I heard footsteps pacing away from the bed, and then the sink in the bathroom start running. Footsteps sounded beside my bed so I opened my eyes again. Zac had a bucket of water above my head.

"Where the _heck_ did you get a bucket?" I mumbled, as he smiled and tipped it over. The icy water careened down and—

Nothing.

Absolutely _nothing_.

I raised an eyebrow and slowly looked up. The water was somehow was levitating above my head. Zac looked confused and I'm sure I did too. Well that was _odd_. I smirked. This was a dream. It was a _dream_. I imagined the water was splashing on Zac, and _BAM!_ He was soaking wet!

"How did you…" He left the room bewildered.

I sighed with contentment and fell back asleep.

* * *

I felt someone shaking my shoulders. I opened my eyes and saw Sarah looking at me. "Did you have a good dream or something, because you were smiling in your sleep."

"I don't remember," I said, frowning. Maybe that was a dream, dumping the water on Zac. "I guess it's time to get up?"

"It's 7:15!" she said brightly and walked out of the room.

I pulled on a grey suit and combed my hair, the brush getting stuck in my ratty, black mane. I gave up the attempt and walked down stairs. _Who cares, anyways?_

Mrs. Howe was setting at the kitchen table staring at a slip of paper. When I walked into the room, she quickly hid it and gave me a hug. "You're ungrounded, Jemma."

"Huh?" I asked, my hands at my sides as she continued to hug me.

She let me go and held me at arm's length. "I knew you were special!" Then she walked away from me. My eyebrows furrowed, and I swiftly walked out the door.

"Jemma! We're going to your special place now, right?" Zac asked, popping out of nowhere.

"We have class. The Rules state that you may only miss—"

"Come on. We've broken rules before! Let's go!"

"Why are you so happy this morning?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he said, clearly lying.

I rolled my head, figuring I'd regret this later, and said, "Come on, let's go to Jemma's Fist."

* * *

**Drop me a review, yeah? :D**


	4. I Have a Chat With Nobody

**Revised on 4/22/11.**

**Thanks for continuing, and enjoy. :D**

* * *

"Seriously, this is it?" Zac asked, an apprehensive glare on his face. We were standing on the top of a hill overlooking a barren landscape—the place just before you entered the safe place.

"Follow me and you'll see," I said with a laugh, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. Touching his hand gave me goose bumps—invigorating… I had to admit, I _liked _it.

I crossed the invisible line, and he did the same. Then, with a puzzled look on his face, he backed up again. I let a giggle escape as I watched him stepped forward and backward over and _over_ again, trying to figure out what was going on. "What-" he started to say, scratching his head.

I shrugged my shoulders, placing an arm around his shoulder. "I'm not sure," I said. "It's weird, isn't it? I don't know what's causing it, but we both agree that something's amiss, right? I mean, you feel the _safe _feeling when you step over the line, don't you?"

He nodded his head and looked around the area, examining for anything abnormal. His eyes hungrily scanned the area. That was one thing that I could always count on Zac for—nothing escaped unnoticed by him. He was a very observant fellow. Finally, he said, "I think there may have been a tree here." He pointed to a place in the ground. There was a slight indention, but nothing else.

"How do you know?" I raised an eyebrow, looking at the area. For all we knew, a hobo had cleared a place to camp for the night, and that was the remnants.

He sighed and gave me his signature _Your-head-is-filled-with-kelp _look, and said, "You can see that there was something large that was in the ground here. And if you look closer, one side is a bit deeper, suggesting that a tree had been pulled out of the ground and dragged out."

"Why isn't the hole deeper then?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Do you pay attention to _anything_ in school?" he snapped, shaking his head. I didn't respond to that, so he spoke again. "It probably happened a long time ago, so erosion has played a part. Since there's no wind, the soil wouldn't have been blown away."

"That does make sense," I muttered, my eyes trained on the hole. It really did have a shallower end to it. Must he always be right?

"Yes, it does," Zac agreed. He smirked, a proud look on his face.

"Now come on," I said, grabbing his hand. "You wanted to see my fist, yeah?" I pulled him forward, skipping down the hill, past the stone foundations, and finally, to the pile of rocks. _Jemma's Fist_.

"I wouldn't have named it Jemma's _Fist_," Zac said, chuckling. "I'm not sure how you manage to get _fist_ from this. It's more like—"

I held up my hand. "Shut it, Zac. You're just jealous you don't get something named after you, that's all."

He shook his head and pointed to a small pebble lying on the ground a few feet away. "I hereby name this little rock, _Zac's Nugget_." He bowed in the direction of the small stone, his eyes trailing up at my own, no doubt waiting for the eye rolling I was giving him.

I ignored him and sat down, leaning against a large rock. It was cool against my back, and felt good in the hot August weather. Zac did the same, taking residence a few feet away. After a few moments of silence, Zac whispered, "Do you remember what my aunt said?"

"When?" I asked, even though I knew he was talking about yesterday. Everything about the incident made me weary, whether it was _what_ she said, or _how _she said it. It was downright _creepy_.

"In class, whenever the green fog was coming out of her m-mouth." Zac shivered as he said that, hugging his knees to his chest. He closed his eyes, do doubt relieving the scene.

"I wrote it down," I said as I handed him my notebook. He took it, his eyes greedily taking in the words. I knew he was probably analyzing every single word, breaking it down, trying to make some sense of it.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What do you think it means?" I asked, reaching for the notebook. "Only one line really makes sense to me."

"Which one?"

"_Some of the greatest lives will be cost,_" I said coolly, looking down at my fingernails.

He frowned. "People are going to die," he whispered. "But the question is, _who_?"

I sighed, closing my eyes. My only concern about people dying was Zac. I could _never _let Zac die. It would be like taking a piece of me; we were _that _close. "What do you think about the other lines?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea," he said. "I don't even know what it's supposed to be, or why my aunt looked possessed whenever she said it."

"Well that's great," I mumbled. There was another mystery in my life. _Just what I needed—more unknown things._

"Where do you think they took my family?" Zac asked after a few minutes of silence, staring at the frozen river in the distance.

"Not sure," I said, lounging back, enjoying the peace and quiet. Peace and quiet was a rarity at the "home," so I relished in it. I heard Zac sigh.

I supposed I had been asleep, because I felt someone shaking me awake. When my eyes opened, I saw that it was dark outside—Hyperion's time off, Phoebe's time to work. "Zac?" I muttered, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

"I think we should head back to the home now," Zac insisted, offering a hand.

"Yeah," I said, standing up.

As I stretched my back, I heard a voice say, "This is weird. All I see is black. Hmm… maybe it only works during the day. I guess I'll take it with me."

"What did you say, Zac?" I whispered, even though I knew it was not his voice. This voice was deeper, distinctly male.

"I didn't say anything," he stammered, his eyes wide.

"Who's there?" I called, biting my lip. The first thought that crossed my mind was the curfew guards. I had never ran into them, but I had heard stories. None of them had happy endings.

"Uh… hello? Who's out there?" the voice asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Show yourself," Zac said, his voice quaking. He edged closer to me, his fingers brushing against mine.

"No! You show yourself!" the voice commanded.

"We're out here in the open," I said, pointing out the obvious.

"No you're not! The only people in the clearing are me, Travis, Connor, and one of Apollo's kids."

"Apollo?" I asked, scanning my brain. _Apollo_? He was one of the evil ones. If he had a kid—

"What's your name?" the voice asked.

"Why don't you tell us yours," I said, my voice like silk, smooth and convincing.

"I'm Percy, okay? Who are you?"

"Percy?" Zac exclaimed. "What's your full name?"

"What are we playing, Twenty Questions?" the voice, Percy, asked.

"Just tell us!" I yelled. I had a feeling I knew what Zac was on to, and it scared me.

"Uh… Perseus Jackson. Does that make you happy?"

Zac and I looked at each other, our eyes fearful. Instinctively, I reached for his hand, grasping it tightly. A small jar of electricity jolted my hand, but I held firmly. I mouthed the words, "You don't think—" when he shushed me.

"Did you battle Lord Kronos?" Zac quizzed.

"Yeah. Where have you been the last year?" the voice asked. "And why are you calling him _Lord_?"

I locked eyes with Zac. We both said, "What's going on?"

The voice said, "Seriously? We're playing Capture the Flag! If you come on out now, I promise I won't hurt you, just capture you."

"What year is it?" Zac asked.

"2010, duh!"

Zac and I looked at each other again, shock on our faces. It was _2110_.

We skedaddled out of there and headed straight for the "home".

* * *

Zac nearly collided with me as I skid to a stop in front of the door of the "home." The familiar blackish door had been kicked in and was hanging by one hinge. On it hung a letter that simply stated, _'Taken under Rule 745'_.

"No way," I murmured in disbelief as I ran up the steps yelling for whoever would answer. I got no response, so I started opening doors. My room was deserted, the beds were overturned, and stuff littered the floor, but no one was in here. Next, I went to Donnie and Chad's room. Their door was off the hinges and stuff was thrown everywhere. "Hello?" I called out again. Still no reply. I walked into the hall and saw that the bathroom door was closed. I ran over to it and tried to open it; it was locked. I pounded on it and said, "It's me, Jemma. Is anyone in there?"

I heard someone whisper, "Do you really think it's her?"

"I don't know," another voice whispered.

Then, I heard the unmistakable voice of Chad yell, "SARAH! DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! SARAH!"

I heard the lock click and the door slowly swung open. Worried green eyes met mine, and then I was engulfed in a hug.

Once Sarah pulled away, she said, "It was _so_ scary! These big scary guys came in and trashed the whole house! I was helping Donnie with his homework in our room when I heard the door open. Chad ran in and told us to get to the bathroom. Once we were all in there, he locked the door. We've been I here for almost three hours!"

"Did you see where they took Mr. and Mrs. Howe?" I asked, looking over her shoulder at my family. The two Howes were nowhere to be seen.

"They're gone?" Donnie whispered. His tiny face was streaked with tears, and his hair was a mess.

"Yeah, they're nowhere in the house," Zac said, walking up behind me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"What happened to them?" Sarah asked.

Chad said, his fists clenched, "I don't know, but whoever took them is gonna pay."

"Chad," Zac said, putting his hand on his shoulder, "Violence doesn't actually solve everything."

Chad looked at Zac, his eyes blazing mad. Then, his gaze softened a tenth of a percent. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But what are we gonna do?"

"Whatever we do, we stay together," I said, and everyone smiled.

"First, I think we need to visit your fist again, Jemma," Zacia said.

_Yippee! Now we can freak out every one with the voice-but-no-body thing! Let's go!_

* * *

**I do believe a review is in order. Critism is welcome. ^_^**


	5. It Was Psychedelic, Man!

**Revised on 5/6/11.**

* * *

Chad crossed his arms, pulled out his old pocketknife, and began to pick at his fingernails. He leaned against the wall, and looked up casually, though his eyes shown differently. "And what do you mean by _her fist?_ Is that a code name for something?"

Zac chuckled and cracked a small grin. He gave my shoulder a pat, then said, "You'll see!" and walked down the stairs, his bright hair disappearing from sight.

"D- do we follow him?" Donnie asked, his face streaked with tears. His tiny hand reached for mine, and he leaned closer to me. It broke my heart to see my little Donnie like that. He had a smile that lit up the room. And when he was sad… his big, helpless eyes made everyone sad.

"Yeah D-Man, we follow him," I said as I swung my arm over his shoulder and pulled him closer. I leaned down and gave his head a kiss, then nodded my head at Chad and Sarah, who, in turn, each nodded their heads, and started down the stairs.

We all walked in silence, never meeting the eyes of the passersby in the streets. We couldn't let them know that anything was different with us. Though, that thought made me think—what was so _different _about us? Why was this happening to _us_? Each and every one of us at the home has been through plenty in our short lives. And now the people who've cared for us are gone. What are we supposed to do?

"That's weird," Sarah mumbled up ahead of us. "I feel different crossing over a certain point here. Kind of like a magic spell was cast on me. Why? Is this what you meant by your _special place_, Jemma?"

I nodded and jogged up to her. As soon as I reached her, I felt renewed, like you'd feel after a long shower. It seemed to fill me with strength. I smiled. "It's quite odd, don't you think?"

"Yeah. But what's going on to make me feel like that?" she asked, crossing back over the line. Her brows were furrowed in a fierce look of concentration.

"I'm not entirely sure," Zac said, Chad—Donnie on his back—following him over the line. They both looked bewildered, and crossed over a few more times. "But I think an ancient tree might have something to do with it."

"Oh…" Sarah mumbled, and pointed to the area where the indention in the ground was—the area we assumed the tree had been. "That was where it was, wasn't it? I'm getting some funky vibrations from that area."

"What do you mean?" I asked, gazing at the hole. Nothing looked unusual to me.

She shrugged her shoulders. "The area still feels alive. Like," she bit her lip, trying to decide how to word what she was thinking, probably. "Um, like some ancient powers are at work. The roots of the tree are still down there. I can feel them. They run deep, probably all the way through the valley."

"I like the feelings here," Donnie said, grabbing my hand. "Good vibrations."

"Right, little man," I said, ruffling his hair. I led the gang down the hill and past the area where the foundations were. "And here's my fist!" I declared, my arms outstretched, displaying my pile of rocks. I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride in my chest by showing everyone my discovery.

"Fist? That's not what I'd call it!" Chad muttered, elbowing Donnie. The two starting cracking up. Sarah rolled her eyes and slapped them on the head.

"Now what?" Sarah asked, completely ignoring the laughing boys.

"First of all, we need _silence_!" Zac shouted, getting flustered. Chad and Donnie immediately stopped, their faces changing emotions super quick. Zac smirked, and continued. "Now then, we should be able to—"

"I'm telling you, when I held this mirror, I could hear someone talking," the same voice from last night said. I glanced over at Chad, Donnie, and Sarah. They were looking for the source of the voice, a hint of fear playing on all their faces.

"Honey, we were playing Capture the Flag. It was probably someone from the other team hiding in the woods just trying to play a trick on you," a new, female voice said.

"I'm serious, Wise Girl! I think this mirror allows me to communicate with the dead!" Perseus said. He really was as ignorant as our history books said he was.

The girl snorted and said, "The only one who can communicate with the dead is Nico. You of all people should know that, Seaweed Brain!"

Zac looked over at me and mouthed the words, "Ready to talk?"

I nodded my head and took a deep breath, then said, "Uh, Perseus Jackson?"

"W-who said that?" the girl asked.

"That's the people from last night! Or should I say, _ghosts_?"

"Umm… whoever you are, quit messing around! Connor, Travis, if it's you, payback is inevitable. Just remember that," the girl, _Wise Girl_ said. I had a feeling the female was Annabeth Chase, Perseus' love interest according to the books. I let a small chuckled escape my lips. I used to be obsessed with learning everything about those two. Their lives were covered in one of the chapters of our history books, written by Coeus.

"No, Connor and Travis were with me in the clearing last night. It couldn't have been them. It's ghosts, I'm telling you!" Perseus exclaimed.

"Could we speak?" Sarah asked, her voice strong and steady. She was completely fearless!

"Who are you?" the girl asked. Her voice was cold, like icy daggers.

"I'm Sarah, and—" Zac ran his hand across his throat, motioning for her to stop.

"Sarah? Who's your godly parent?" the girl quizzed.

"Huh?" Chad asked, scratching his head. He had his pocketknife out again, and was clenching it tightly. I couldn't imagine what good it would do though. It was pretty dull.

"How many of you are hiding?" Wise Girl asked. I still couldn't shake the feeling that she was Annabeth.

"We're not hiding," Donnie said, looking up at me in confusion. "You are."

"Okay, seriously. You guys need to stop. It's almost curfew and you guys need to get back to your cabins. Especially with the new prophecy," the girl said.

"What's a prophecy?" Donnie whispered.

"Come on. It's not funny anymore. Come out _now_," the girl demanded.

"Annabeth, they're ghosts, they don't have curfews anymore," Perseus said.

"They're not ghosts. And to prove it, let's go get Nico. He'll just tell you that you're going crazy," the girl said. So I _was _right, she was Annabeth. Things just kept getting weirder. You could hear slight footsteps in the distance. Then there was silence.

"That was spooky," Chad muttered, running a beefy hand along the blade in his hand.

"There has to be a source for their voices," Zac declared. He walked around the pile of rocks, looking for something.

"I wonder—" I started to say when Zac interrupted me.

"Hey! I think I foun-ahh!" Zac's scream echoed across the still night, sending shivers down my spine. Images flickered across my mind as I imagined what could have happened to him.

"Zac!" I yelled and ran around the rock looking for him. I couldn't see him anywhere. It was like he had disappeared off the face of the planet.

"Zac! ZACIA! ZAAAAAAAAACIA!" I yelled.

_No response._

"Where did he go?" Sarah asked, fear in her voice, her brown eyes wide.

"I-I…" I couldn't even answer her. I couldn't believe that Zac could just vanish into thin air. Something about this just wasn't right.

I turned back to the rock and did another quick walk around it.

_Nothing._

_Wait_! I scanned the area again, and… _hold on!_ Something was glowing slightly. I climbed up a big rock and saw it—a small hand mirror that was illuminated.

I reached down to grab it. My win was short lived as I lost my balance, and plunged forward. I managed to grab the tarnished handle just as I fell in between the two rocks and… _kept falling?_ _Wait a minu—BOOM!_

I hit the bottom like a sack of potatoes, limp and unable to move. I had a distinct feeling that I s-was in a cave because it was cold and wet. I had landed on the floor, which appeared to be made of bricks. "Zac?" I called out hesitantly.

A relieved voice said, "Jemma? Thank goodness! Where are you?"

"Right here," I said, slowly standing up. I was still a little dizzy from the fall. I kept talking, leading him to me using my voice.

Finally, he found me. Correction: his _foot_ found mine. He stomped all the toes on my right foot.

"Where are we?" he whispered, entwining his fingers with mine. A small shock passed through at our touch.

"I have no id—" I started to say, then stopped. I remembered the mirror in my hand and peered down into it. It was black, dark. You could hear voices.

"Percy thinks there are ghosts haunting him," Annabeth said. She sounded annoyed, but also slightly amused. Probably at her boyfriend's belief of us being ghosts. I felt a small smile form on my lips. They act just like I had always imagined they would.

A new voice that belonged to a boy said, "Percy, you know that technically, ghosts don't exist. At least not in the way you or I would think."

"Come on Nico. You _have_ to believe me. There are ghosts haunting me!" Percy said. I'm sure if I had seen him, he would have been throwing his arms in the air for emphasis.

"Okay, say I believe you. Are they really haunting you, or that mirror in your pocket?" the other boy, Nico, asked. His voice was higher, _squeakier_.

"I uh… I… that's a good question," Percy said. Suddenly, the black mirror lit up and turned into about a million different colors. I felt like I was spinning really fast in circles. Then, it stopped and I was staring into the black eyes of a boy. He had pale skin and black, punk style hair.

"Well that's not my reflection!" the boy said in surprise. His eyes widened, and his messy hair fell in his face. He raised an eyebrow and turned his head.

"Yeah, I know. It's just black. I'm not sure what it's for," Percy mumbled.

"It's not black. It's not black at all…" the black eyed boy in the mirror said, a look of disbelief on his young face.

"What? Let me see!" someone shouted, and the mirror displayed lots of different, swirling colors. Then, sea green eyes—not unlike mine—stared into the mirror. A piece of black hair fell into his eyes, and a hand swept it back. The eyes frowned, and the boy said, "Wow, she has my eyes. That's… _weird_."

"Let me see it," Annabeth said. More swirling colors and then a new face—this time, gray, intelligent eyes stared into mine. You could see a few strands of blonde hair hanging in her face. "Wow… she looks just like you!"

"Let me see it again!" Percy yelled.

"No, I want to see it!" Nico said.

Lots of swirling colors that made my head want to explode flashed across the small mirror. "Stop it! I'm getting sick!" I yelled. All the blurring colors made me dizzy.

The colors stopped. Three sets of eyes bore into mine. "Are you… are you inside the mirror?" the girl asked, reaching a hand forward to tap on the glass.

"Are _you_ inside the mirror?" Zac asked from behind me. I jumped and dropped the mirror, cursing under my breath.

"Don't do that. It's scary enough without that!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he picked up the mirror. He held it out in front of him so we both could see into it.

"What was that?" Percy asked.

"What?"

"The swirling colors. It was psychedelic!" Percy had a crooked grin on his face.

"I dropped the mirror," I said flatly.

"Oh… so I guess that proves that you're not inside it," Annabeth said matter-of-factly. Her gaze never once faltered from Zac and me. It was quite daunting, actually.

"Who _are_ you?" Zacia asked.

"Who are _you_?" Nico countered, raising a dark eyebrow.

"Tell us," I demanded.

"I'm Percy, just like I told you before. This is Nico and Annabeth." The green eyed boy frowned and crossed his arms in an impatient way.

"What are your names?" Annabeth asked, her gaze softening a bit. "You owe us that much."

I sighed and said, "My name is Jemma and this is Zacia, Zac for short."

"Okay Jemma, and who is your godly parent?" Annabeth asked, producing a notebook from seemingly nowhere. _She probably had it stashed up her sleeve or something,_ I said to myself. _The books I've read all said she never left without a notebook._

"What do you mean?" Zac and I asked as the same time, looking at each other.

"One of your parents has to be a god. And I have a pretty good guess as to who yours is."

"Who?" I asked. Maybe she knew something about my mom and dad.

"I'd say Poseidon because you look just like Percy," Annabeth told me with a curt nod of the head.

I scanned my brain_. Poseidon… he was one of the "evil ones". He had the same powers as Oceanus does._

"His remains were tossed into Tartarus one hundred years ago. How could he be Jemma's dad?"

A look of shock crossed their faces. "_What?"_

"Our Lord Kronos cut up him, along with all the other "evil ones" and threw them into Tartarus. Iapetus guards the entrance and makes sure no one escapes," I said, shrugging my shoulders. It was common knowledge.

"What are you talking about? That's my dad's job. Except he makes sure none of the _Titans_ escape," Nico said.

"Your dad is Iapetus? I didn't know The Elite Twelve could have kids," I said.

"My dad is Hades," Nico said, looking worried.

"Hades is another one of the "evil ones"," Zac said.

"Who are the "evil ones"?" Annabeth asked, worry plaguing her face.

I answered automatically, "Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Ares, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, and Hephaestus."

"The "evil ones" are the gods?" Nico muttered.

Annabeth asked, a worried look on her face, "And who are The Elite Twelve?"

I answered automatically again, "Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Theia, Coeus, Phoebe, Mnemosyne, Themis, Crius, Iapetus, Rhea, and Kronos."

"Those are the Titans," Percy said.

"Yes, I know!" Annabeth yelled. She looked as though she was thinking very hard. "What year is it?"

"2110," Zac said, rolling his eyes. _Who wouldn't know what year it was?_

"It's 2010," Nico said alarmingly.

"YES, I KNOW!" Annabeth shouted again. "What happened on August 18, 2009?"

"That was my sixteenth birthday," Percy said.

"I know," Annabeth said. She gave him a look that quieted him in a hurry.

"August 18th was the day Lord Kronos defeated Perseus Jackson. All the "evil ones" were thrown into Tartarus and their training camp was burnt to the ground. No one survived," I said.

The three of them stood there with a bizarre look on their face and their mouths open, probably thinking _'is she crazy?_' because that's what they looked like.

"I need to go get my laptop," Annabeth said as she ran out of the picture.

"So, uh… how's the weather in 2110?" Percy asked, cracking a crooked grin.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. ^_^ Now then, the proper thing to do would be to review. *nods***


	6. An Alternate Universe?

**Revised on 5/8/11.**

* * *

"We don't have weather," Zac said, rolling his eyes. He sounded agitated, while I, on the other hand, was completely entranced with the thought of _weather_. Sure, we had sunlight—thanks Hyperion—but nothing besides that. I had always wondered what it would be like to have such strong winds that could knock down buildings. It's just… _unthinkable_.

"Oh, bummer," Percy muttered, shaking his head.

No one said anything more, so I looked around in the darkness. Since the mirror glowed—or rather, put off a slightly luminescent field—I could faintly see. We were standing in what looked to be a long, never-ending hallway made of stone. It was cold and you could feel a slight breeze.

"Where are we?" I asked Zac, brushing his fingers with mine. Electricity bounced at the touch. It wasn't an uncomfortable shock, but a soothing one.

"I don't know," he muttered, "but I have a feeling that no one's been here in a _long_ time."

"I know, me too. It has an odd feeling… like something tragic happened," I murmured. A voice seemed to whisper inside my head, _Death. Lots of death._ I shivered involuntary. I had a feeling the voice was right.

I heard a door slam and Annabeth's voice call, "Jemma? Zac? Are you still here? Or there? I guess either one would be correct. And you would answer the same either way…" She trailed off.

I held up the mirror so that both Zac and I could see into it. Annabeth was sitting at a desk with something I had never seen before. It was the size of one of our text books—a text book sitting on its side, open. There was a screen on the back side that was lit up. I raised an eyebrow.

"What _is_ that?" Zac wondered aloud, cocking his head to the side.

"What?" Annabeth looked around, confusion on her face. Her eyes trailed back to the box-type-thing on her desk, then asked, "They don't have computers in your futuristic world?"

"Huh?" I didn't understand what she said, so I said, "I've never seen one of those before."

I heard Percy say to Nico, "Hold the mirror. I need to ask them a question." Then there was some swirling colors and Percy was sitting next to Annabeth.

"What question did you want to ask us?" Zac said.

"You guys don't have Facebook?" Percy asked, his eyes wide. He threw hands up in the air in an exasperated manor.

"Uh… Facebook?" I asked. _What's Facebook? Do they paste pictures of people's faces on books? If that's the case, then I suppose we would have Facebooks. But why would Percy be so surprised?_

"OH MY GOSH! Can you believe this? They've never even heard of Facebook. What do you do without FarmVille?"

"FarmVille?" _What the heck is he talking about? Is it a farm or a village? _

"Yeah, or any of the other awesome games on there. I don't see how you live!" Percy laid his head down on the desk.

"Nobody cares about your farm, Perce," Nico muttered.

"I knew it!" Annabeth said, evidently completely unaware of the conversation that had just taken place.

"Huh? What?" Percy yelled, raising his head up.

"Miss Smarty Pants over here found her answer," Nico said.

"Well?"

"_Well…_ Apparently Daedalus had a theory," Annabeth began, "as to how this might happen."

"Wait, who's Daedalus?" I asked.

"He invented the Labyrinth," Nico said coolly.

"And a bunch'a other cool stuff!" Percy concluded, grinning.

"Right," Annabeth said, glancing over at Percy. "As I said, he had a theory."

"And that theory is?" Nico asked, sounding depressed.

"It's kind of hard to explain," she said, frowning. "I had trouble grasping the concept at first, so—"

"So you're going to have to dumb it down for us," Percy said lightly, touching her elbow.

She took a deep breath, then said, "I think what he thought was that for every choice you make, in some alternate universe, the other side to that decision is chosen."

"Erm… What?"

She frowned again and I smiled. Her eyes were moving very, very fast, reading the data on the screen. I was fairly certain she was calculating very complex problems in her head. "For example," she finally said, "every time you make a decision, even one as simple as wearing a hat that day, in some other world, you chose to not wear a hat."

"So there's another me?" Percy asked, raising his brows.

"There's an infinite number of yous, as scary as that sounds," she whispered that part, then spoke up again. "There's an infinite number of everyone in an infinite number of alternate universes."

"Sweetness!"

"Like, in one world, you may have died as a child, so you wouldn't have been the next child of the great prophecy; it could have been Nico. In another world, Nico could have died the same time his mother was killed—" Nico winced as she said that. Annabeth continued, not missing a beat, "thus creating the need for some other hero."

"Uh, right," Percy mumbled, looking up at Nico, who was holding the mirror. He must have mouthed something, because Percy snickered.

"How does this tie in with us?" I asked.

Annabeth said, "You're living in an alternate universe, where unfortunately, Percy lost against Kronos, and he took control over the world."

"Holy guacamole, that's confusing!" Percy exclaimed.

"And that's why your head is filled with kelp," Annabeth snapped.

Zac laughed—a quiet laugh, but a laugh none-the-less. "Who's to say that it's _you_ that's living in an alternate universe where Lord Kronos lost against _Percy_?"

Annabeth frowned, her brows furrowed. "I—I guess you could look at it that way."

"Okay, but what about the mirror?" I asked, glancing over at Zac. Sometimes the things he said really threw me for a loop. Now was a perfect example of such a time.

"We found these mirrors on purpose. That means that we'll be using them in some shape or form. You know… no, that's impossible… well, not impossible…" Annabeth began talking to herself. "It's actually highly probable, factoring in the recent events…" Then, she picked up her laptop and swiftly walked out the room.

"You know, sometimes I wish I could read her mind," Percy said.

"Why? You wouldn't understand what she was thinking anyways. She's too scientific," Nico commented.

"Yeah, still…" Percy mumbled, his face thoughtful.

Zac put down the mirror—I had handed it to him after my arm had went to sleep. "Do you believe what that Annabeth girl was saying?"

I was going to say yes, but I hesitated. _Why should we believe them? We didn't know them. For all I know, they could be psycho maniac killers! But, what she said did make sense… sort of. And besides_, _I was certain it was the Annabeth, the Annabeth our history books briefly mentioned. Her intentions—if you read between all the lies of the book—were actually good._ I nodded. "Yeah, I believe her."

"Well, if you trust her, then I do too," Zac said, placing an arm around my shoulder. He shocked me, and I wondered if it was all in my head. He didn't even act like he felt anything. Maybe he didn't. Maybe I was going crazy.

Setting the topic of my sanity aside, I said, "Now then, how do we get out of here?"

"I was wondering the same thing myself. Maybe one of them will know." Zac lifted up the mirror and yelled, "PERCY!"

Percy jerked his head around and said, "What?"

"Have you ever been inside this room before?" Zac gave a slow, 360 degree view of the place.

"That looks like… the entrance to the Labyrinth." He shivered as he said that, his eyes suddenly seeing something other than the room he was in.

"The same Labyrinth that the Daedalus guy built?" I asked, thinking back to our history book. The Labyrinth had been a very strategic area for invading the camp where demigods were trained. If we were in that same place…

"Uh huh," Percy whispered.

"What's wrong with it?" Zac asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." Percy shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. His eyes were what gave him away, though. They seemed to hold a sadness—a sadness that could only be caused by _death_. "We fought a battle there, and a lot of people died…"

There was silence on both ends, as what he said sunk in. _Just how many people had died in here?_

The voice in my head answered with a simple, _Lots._

"So you've been in here, though?" Zac asked.

"Yeah."

"Can you tell us how to get out?"

"Sure. First, you've got to go to a wall and feel along it for an indention. Once you find that—"

I felt an indention, so I pushed it. Suddenly, light erupted, shocking my poor retinas.

"I think we've got it from here," I said as I climbed out and into the openness. I helped Zac up and then we looked for Chad, Sarah, and Donnie. I couldn't see them. Hyperion was pulling the sun across the sky. _Wait, what?_ When we'd gone into the Labyrinth, it was about ten o'clock. Now… I'd say it was nearing four in the morning. _That couldn't be right. We hadn't been in there that long, had we?_

"What the he—"

"I don't know what's going on," I whispered, reaching for Zac's hand, which I grasped eagerly.

"Chad? Donnie? Sarah? Anyone?" Zac shouted.

_No response_.

"Hello? Where are you guys?" I yelled, craning my neck frantically to see if they had wondered off somewhere.

I heard someone mutter, "Over here." I followed the voice and discovered the three lying down under the over-hang of a rock. They were all rubbing their eyes. _They had been asleep_.

"Where did you guys go?" Donnie asked. "You were gone for a long time."

Zac shook his head. "It felt like we were gone for thirty minutes tops."

"Yeah, I know. It didn't feel like we were gone for long at all."

"Hey, uh… Jemma and Zac?" Annabeth's voice rose from inside Zac's pocket. He pulled out the mirror and held it up so all five of us could be seen.

Chad looked over at me. "What's going—"

"Hi! I'm Sarah!" Sarah said happily. The fact that our reflections weren't staring back at us didn't seem to bother her one bit. She was practically beaming.

"Hi Sarah. It's nice to meet you. I'd like you guys to meet Chiron. He'd like to talk to you guys about the possibility of a quest."

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated. :D**


	7. In a Way, We Get Claimed

**Revised on 6.4.11.**

**Funny, on the author's note before this, I mentioned that I was so close to 100 reviews. :D Thank you all so much for being to supportive. ^_^**

* * *

"Eh, a quest?" _What the heck? Like what a knight would go on in medieval times to woo a princess? Well, if that was the type of quest we were going on, count Jemma out, man. I'm in no search of a princess. Now, a prince… that's always a possibility_. The colors in the mirror swirled many different colors, before coming to a stop, the colors forming into a face, etched with age. A scraggly beard and dark, wise eyes stared back at me.

"Ah, Jemma, isn't it?" the man in the mirror asked. His thin lips formed into a smile, which made his eyes crinkle and sparkle, giving him a jovial expression. It reminded me of a mask, though, like something different was hidden just below. He looked like a man who had seen a lot in his life, and it hadn't been all _rainbows and ponies_.

"Yeah, I'm Jemma," I said, nodding. "Jemma Kilmore. And this is Zacia, but he prefers to go by Zac." I motioned towards my red headed companion. "Sarah, Chad, and Donnie are somewhere around here," I finished, turning to look for the rest of my gang.

"Okay Jemma," the man said. "Could you please describe to me _exactly _what is going on in your world? Possibly political wise?"

I frowned. _Political wise? Like… uh._ I shrugged my shoulders, hoping he would elaborate more, because let's face it, I'm not the brightest out there.

"You remind me of another young hero I know," he muttered, so low I barely caught it. There was a twinkle in his eye as he said that. "Could you tell me the ruling body of your government?"

"Umm… our land is ruled by the Elite Twelve. Is that what you mean?" I asked, giving him a hopeful smile.

"The Elite Twelve? Please," he said, "elaborate."

I bit my lip, trying to figure out if I trusted this man. He _did_ seem concerned. And it wasn't like he was actually here. Apparently he wasn't even in this _time_. I nodded and prepared to deliver the speech that had been drilled into my mind since I was little. "Well, before our Lord Kronos defeated the prophesied one, Perseus Jackson, the world was a dark place." I continued on, explaining _everything_… our past and present, up to this moment.

The man seemed deep in thought. He kept stroking his chin, his eyes darting back and forth every so often, as though he were computing complicated problems. He reminded me of Annabeth in that aspect. He was very intelligent, that much I could tell.

"What's your name?" Zac asked, cocking his head sideways.

The man said, though not with his full attention, "My name is Chiron, boy."

I quickly drew in a breath. My eyes widened, and I looked over to Zac, who appeared to be doing the same thing. _Was this guy the Chiron? The Chiron from all the stories?_ Zac leaned over and whispered, "Chiron was a son of Kronos. He was chopped up into pieces and cast into Tartarus. The Lord himself threw his remains into there, because Chiron had betrayed him so much."

"You really think this is _The_ Chiron, Zac?" I asked, quickly eyeing the kind man in the mirror. "He doesn't look like the malicious, deceiving type to me."

He shrugged his shoulders. "They always say it's the ones you least expect who are the culprits."

"Who's _they_?"

Zac rolled his eyes. "I don't know. Just… _never mind_, Jem."

"So do we trust him?" I asked. _Honestly, how could we not trust him? But then again… maybe that's what he wants. He wants us to trust him, so he can build a steady relationship, then betray us, just like he did Lord Kronos!_

"I—I don't think I trust _anyone_ yet," Zac muttered, shaking his head. "Maybe we should pretend like we do? That always seems to work." I gave him a small nod.

"Jemma, Zacia, if you are done whispering, I would like to inform you of my conclusion," Chiron said, his eyes glittering with an understanding so deep…

I felt heat rushing to my face. Blushing, I asked him, "Please tell us."

"Well, I would assume you remember the prophecy your aunt said. If my memory serves me correctly, Zacia, you mentioned to me that your aunt spat out a weird phrase with green mist coming out of her mouth, right?"

"She said a prophecy?" Zac asked, confusion evident on his face.

"What _is_ a prophecy?" I asked, offering a grin. I felt as though _my_ brain were made of kelp instead of Percy's.

"A prophecy Jemma, is like predicting the future. One way or another, the lines will come true. Though not often in the way you thought."

_Alrighty… well then. How interesting. _I had no response to that. Zac did though. "What does the prophecy mean, then? The prophecy my aunt said, I mean."

"We will never fully understand it until it had past. Therefore, it is useless to infer," Chiron said with a curt nod of his head.

"And what does it have to do with us?" I asked, raising a brow.

Zac and Chiron looked at me at the same, the same expressions on their face. If I hadn't have been so confused, I probably would have been creeped out. Well… I was still pretty creeped out. The two answered in synchronicity. "You go on a quest."

"So we just like go? Just walk off into the unknown?" I asked. "And where does finding a princess come into play?"

"A… _princess_?" Zac asked. "_What_?"

"Uh, well, you know… back in medieval times, knights went on quests to rescue a princess. They usually fought a dragon and… No?" I looked between Zac and Chiron, who both wore blank expressions. "Okay, so erase the princess part. We just walk off into the unknown?"

"Pretty much. You have to start somewhere," Chiron mumbled, seemingly glad I dropped the _princess thing_.

"Here's another question. How do we know if the right people are the _children of the once great twelve_?"

"Each individual will have certain qualities about them that will identify their godly insides. Take yourself for instance, Miss Kilmore. You have black hair and sea green eyes. That's a tell-tell sign that Poseidon is your predecessor. Not to mention the fact that you're erm… a bit _slow_."

"A bit _slow_? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I—your words, not mine," Chiron quickly said, taking a sudden interest in something to the right of himself.

I decided to let it slide. He was right. I'm a bit slow at times. But just a LITTLE BIT! "If Poseidon is my father, then can I control water?" I asked.

Zac chuckled and gave me a wink before saying, "I think you know that answer. Remember when you splashed me with the water that I was supposed to be splashing you with?"

I laughed as I remembered. Zacie-Poo wasn't too happy about that. "Yeah, it was funny!"

Chiron continued, completely disregarding our laughter, "If I could speak individually with each of you, I could probably tell you who your godly parent is. I doubt the gods are able to claim you…"

"Oh, yeah… sure," I mumbled, then handed the mirror to Zac and went to look for the others.

Turns out, they weren't too far away. Chad and Donnie were on the ground wrestling and Sarah was lounging on a small patch of grass that had seemingly come from thin air. The entire area around her was bare. "Hey guys, someone wants to talk to you. He's going to tell you who one of your parents is."

"Really?" Donnie asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He had such an innocence about him. I hoped he would never lose it.

"Yeah, come on," I said, offering them a hopeful smile. They followed me back to Zac and the mirror.

"I think I've pinpointed it, Mr. Stevens," the voice of Chiron said.

"Great! Who is it?" Zac asked excitedly. I hadn't heard him this excited in a long time.

"I will tell you all once I've interviewed everyone."

"Oh…" Zac handed the mirror to Donnie and sat down against a giant boulder. I walked over and sat down beside him.

"What kind of questions did he ask you?" I wondered aloud, placing my head on his shoulder. A small shock seemed to pass between the two of us.

"Really random stuff. Like first, he asked what color my eyes were. Then he asked if I had ever had any strange occurrences. He even asked if I felt like a follower or a leader. Just weird stuff like that."

"And are you a leader or a follower?" I asked him, smirking.

"I think I'm more of a leader, but I'll follow if I feel the leader is qualified."

"Oh," I muttered, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. Surely he wasn't talking about me. Did he really think I was qualified? "What kind of strange occurrences have you had?"

"Well… I told him I always have a lot of static. Like whenever I touch someone, I give them a shock. My hair always stands up… I guess that's about it." He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

I looked over at the others. Sarah was handing the mirror to Chad. "I think they're almost done," I whispered, patting his knee.

Zac stood up and grabbed my hand to help me up. When our pale hands connected, a small shock echoed throughout. I was so used to it that I hardly even noticed any more.

"Okay, thank you Chad. Now I think I know who you all are," Chiron said. I got closer to the mirror so I could hear easier. Chad was holding it so it was over our heads and angled down. Not exactly the ideal position.

"Tell me first!" Donnie cried, reaching for my hand. I let him grip it, a smile on my face.

"Donald, I believe you are a son of Hermes, the god of travel, messages, and thieves."

"Yeah, you're definitely a thief, Don," Chad said, giving the small boy a playful punch on the arm.

"Chad, you're a son of Ares, the god of war."

"I can see that," Sarah muttered, pursing her lips.

"Sarah, Demeter is your mother. She's the goddess of harvesting and plants."

"So that's why I was able to grow that patch of grass back there," Sarah said, face palming. "Duh! I mean, I should have known!"

"What about me?" Zac asked, his blue eyes… _electrifying._

"Zeus… your father is _Zeus_, king of the gods, ruler of the sky. Zac, your powers are very strong. You must use caution with them, as with you, Jemma. You have great power running through your veins. They can make you great… or kill you. Only you can decide."

"I'd rather not be killed," I mumbled under my breath.

A long period of silence followed those words. What else could we do besides digest what we now knew we were?

Chiron finally spoke up. "You should probably get ready for your quest. Since the prophecy was prophesized, you must act now. I am sure that something big is about to happen. Something that could end life as we _all_ know it…"

"We need to go, then," Chad said.

"Keep your mirror with you at all times. I have a feeling that these have a greater purpose. Annabeth, I'm trusting you with keeping our mirror."

The colors swirled and then a blonde haired Annabeth was looking at us. "Good luck…" she whispered, her lips forming into a small smile. "You'll need it."

Chad handed me the mirror and we set off. From the mirror in my pocket, I heard Nico say, "Will you guys get out of my cabin? You're ruining the vibe."

"Yeah Nico, I'd hate to pollute the feeling of death," Annabeth spat.

I took the mirror out of my pocket and threw it into my backpack. I had no intentions of listening to Annabeth's various conversations, and vice versa.

"Where to, chief?" Zac asked me, a smile on his face.

I grinned. It was all up to me. Then I frowned. This could be bad. "Well…"

* * *

**Thanks a billion and a half for reading! Time for a flashback: **

**'If you have any questions, just ask. I'll try to answer! **_{There's no 'try' about it. I answer!}_

**If you catch any spelling mistakes, just tell what they are and I'll fix 'em! **_{No one ever points out spelling mistakes. Maybe that's a good thing?}_

**If you hate my story and tell me to delete it, I won't! **_{That's only occured twice. :D}_

**If you tell me you love my story and you want me to update faster, then I will! **_{Yeah... that didn't work too well, did it? It's been almost two months since I last updated hasn't it? D:}_

**Basically, just review!' **_{I now realize it's the quality, not the quantity of the reviews. Though, having a bunch of positive reviews is quite nice...}_

**Oh man... I was so obnoxicous back then. *nervous laugh* Alright... so I'm still obnoxious. What of it?**


	8. The Motel

**Revised on 6.5.11.**

**This chapter was especially suckish. Bleh. It was barely 950 words. I managed to make it 1,900 words. O_o Enjoy, yeah? **

* * *

I bit my lip and closed my eyes. _Great, Jemma's the leader! Now she's just got to make the right decision that could ultimately affect everyone, possibly even the whole world! _I sighed. "Uh, we could…" I muttered, trailing off. I had to be careful. Whatever I decided had to be the right decision. It _had_ to be.

"Jem," Zac's cool fingers brushed against mine, sending a small shock through my body. "Are you okay?" His thin lips were pursed, his deep blue eyes as restless as a brewing storm.

Our gazes connected, and it was like time stood still, like there was no one else in the world but the two of us. We wouldn't have to worry about the impending doom of the world, or… I snapped out of the daydream, my cheeks flooding with color. He blinked and a small smile formed on his face. His face turned a reddish tint. "I—I'm just great," I quickly mumbled, retracing my gaze to the floor.

"What are we supposed to do, Jemma?" Donnie asked, edging closer to me. He looked up at me, his hazel eyes wide like a calf. Even though he was ten years old, Donnie had always acted younger than his age. He showed up at the "home" whenever he was two with nothing but a tiny toy car. He was filthy and sacred to death. He wouldn't say a word to anyone—he was nearly four whenever he uttered a single word. No one knew what had happened to him before he came to the "home." I just knew that as soon as I laid eyes on him, I loved him like he was my own. I guess he is, in a sense. He's my little baby. I gave him a tiny smile and ruffled his hair.

"Well, maybe we should refer back to the prophecy Miss Stevens said. Let me get out my notebook." I reached into my bag and pulled out the spiral bound book, opening it to the page where I had scribbled down the prophecy. I held it out so everyone could read it. After a few minutes, I asked, "Any ideas?" Everyone shook their heads _no._

"Maybe we're just over thinking this," Zac said, crossing his arms.

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning. _Overthinking? I was thinking that we were under thinking Ah, too much thinking,_ I mentally mumbled.

"We need to stop planning ahead, and just go," Zac said, a determination in his eyes. "We need to step up to the plate and just go!"

"And where exactly are we going to _go_?" Sarah asked, rolling her eyes in my direction. I winked at her.

"Wherever the road takes us!" he said, grinning, and marched off. Everyone stayed rooted where they were, turning to face me. Chad opened his mouth to speak, but Zac interrupted, stopping in his tracks. "If it was prophesized, then it's our _destiny_ to find all the other kids. This is what we're supposed to do, I just know it." He started walking again, this time not stopping to see if we were following. _If anything, he was a persistent little bug_, I said to myself, a small smile gracing my lips.

"Are we going to follow him, Jem?" Donnie asked, staring at the retreating form of my red headed best friend.

I took Donnie's tiny hand in my own. Nodding, I said, "Yeah, I think so. And just so we're clear, _I'm_ the leader, not him, capice?" I gave my gang a half grin and motioned towards Zac.

"Totally," Sarah mumbled, a big smile plastered on her. She ran forward to Zac. _That was one thing about Sarah. She completely trusted my judgment. _I grumbled and ran up to Zac, Donnie in tow, Chad following close behind.

We reached Zac, and silence ensued. After walking for a bit, I asked, "Where are you planning on going? Or are you hoping the wind will carry you wherever you need to go?"

Zac snorted and rolled his eyes. "_First_, I'm going to the "home" to get the van. Then we can do _whatever_ it is you want to do, _capice_?"

I smirked. "Don't you take my word, boy."

"Sorry babe, it's catchy!" Zac chuckled, jokingly placing an arm around my shoulders. I elbowed him in the side. He knew I hated being called _babe_—it was so demeaning. I had to admit, though… it was _nice_ being in his arms…

We got to the "home" quickly. Just seeing the place gave me chills. It used to be such a beautiful building—the outside never matched the inside. Now, it's rundown and broken—which fit the mood better. Everyone who came and went from the "home" was _rundown and broken_.

"Wow," Chad muttered. "It looks so…" He didn't even bother finishing his sentence. It was hard seeing the place you grew up in in shambles. Chad had lived in the "home" for three years, Sarah for two years, and Donnie for eight years. Each of them had come looking battered and worse for the wear. And me… Well, I won the prize for longest stay. I'd lived here for thirteen years…Thirteen years since I'd seen _her _face…

Chad balled his fists and shook his head. "Come on. You can feel sorry for yourself later. Right now, I've got a car to drive!" He gave me a firm pat on the back and shoved past me into the garage door.

"You're not driving Chad! You're not old enough!" Sarah shouted, running past me into the garage, too.

"Hey guys, I wanna drive!" Donnie said, jogging into the garage.

"Children," Zac muttered, shaking his head. "It's so _childish_ to argue about who's going to drive." A grin lit up his face and he winked. "Just so you know, I'm driving!" he exclaimed, walking past me.

I rolled my eyes. _Fair enough_. I didn't know how to drive in the first place.

After everyone had stopped fighting and faced the reality that Zac was driving, we hit the road.

* * *

"Here's an idea," I mumbled, running a hand through my hair. We had been in the van for nearly five hours when I decided to suggest what I'd already suggested about a million times: "Why don't we stop for the day. We could all use a rest. And this'll give us a chance to decide our next move."

"You just can't stand the idea of not knowing, can you?" he asked, briefly glancing to me before resting his eyes once more on the road.

"No! I mean yes. _No…_"

Zac chuckled. "Which is it, yes or no?"

_Great going, Jemma,_ I thought. _Let Zac confuse you… again. _Completely ignoring his last remark, I said, "Just look at everyone. They need to rest. We've all been through a lot in the last little bit. We need some time to recuperate."

Zac glanced up at the rear view mirror, then back to the road. I turned around and looked at the others. Donnie and Sarah were leaning on each, asleep. Chad's face was pushed up against the window and he was snoring. Zac sighed. "Okay, the next town should have a motel. We can stop there."

I smiled knowing I had won that argument.

A few minutes later, Zac slid the van into a deserted parking lot in front of a rundown motel. The cheap vinyl was peeling off the sides and the neon in the sign had long since burnt out. Hyperion pulled the sun below the horizon, causing an eerie shadow to fall across the land.

"This looks promising." Chad's words slurred as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. His mouth opened and he let a long yawn escape.

"It surely has beds, right Jemma?" Sarah asked, also rubbing her eyes.

"I hope so," I whispered, marching towards the door. We all stepped in the crumbling building, and was pleasantly surprised. The interior was fairly nice—at least, it would do for the night.

"Welcome to The Atlasta Motel," the girl behind the front desk said. She had long, glossy blonde hair with soft curls and just the right amount of makeup. In addition to the regulation grey suit, she had a magenta scarf, diamond necklace and matching earrings, and magenta pink pumps. Her bright smile was distracting.

"Uh, thanks," I said, offering a small smile to the girl. She was probably around eighteen years old, though she seemed like she had seen a lot in those years. _Wow, I sound like my psychologist. 'She seemed like she had seen a lot in those years.' Oh my gosh…_

"No problem," she said, nodding. "Two rooms? Three rooms?"

"Yes, two rooms please," Sarah told the girl.

"Okay, for two rooms, it's…" She closed her sky blue eyes briefly, then opened them. "Two hundred and thirty six dollars. Will that be cash or charge?"

All their eyes turned to me. "We uh… don't have that much. I—"

"Here you go." Zac handed the girl a credit card. She smiled at him as she swiped the card.

The girl handed the card back and said, "You guys have rooms seven and eight. They're just down the hall." She pointed to the left of the desk and tossed me the keys.

"Thanks," I said and headed to the rooms, my gang in tow. Sarah and I took one of the rooms, and the boys got the other.

After we had all showered, we gathered in the boys' room to discuss our plans.

"I want to go to Crater Lake," Sarah said, staring dreamily into the distance. "It's so pretty there…"

"How would you know?" Chad asked. "You've never been there."

"Our science instructor told us the wildlife was so strong there, that Lord Kronos wasn't able to completely freeze time. So like, the leaves actually fall from the trees! And the sun really shines…" She sighed really big.

"That sounds like a good idea," Zac said. He had a thoughtful look on his face.

"WHAT?" I said, quite loud, I might add. "We're barely in Pennsylvania right now. Crater Lake is in Oregon. That's a LONG ways away!"

"But the enchantment is weaker there. That sounds like a good thing. And since there's a long distance between the two, that means we can cover more ground and look for more kids."

_He did have a point. We would be more likely to find the prophesized kids. But what would we do once we had everyone together? What's the point in rallying everyone together with no plan. But I guess a slight plan was better than nothing._ "Okay… we can go to Crater Lake. But we get to stop where I want to, agreed?"

Zac opened his mouth to say something, just as a blood curdling scream sounded outside our door.

* * *

**Reviews are lovely. :)**


	9. I Fight the Minotaur

**Revised on 7.9.11.**

**I managed to add eight hundred words to this chappie. ^_^**

**Beta - Camzy**

* * *

Everyone's eyes widened. "What was –" Sarah started to ask before Zac put a finger to his lips—_silence_.

No one said a word—the air was filled with tension, so much you could have heard a pin drop. I didn't hear anything else, except for the heavy breathing of the five of us. No more hysterical screams, though.

"Stay in here. I'm going to go check it out," Zac said, pulling his headband down tighter on his head. He gave me a small smile, then walked out the door, closing it behind him.

"We're not going to listen to him, are we?" Donnie asked with a stereotypically mischievous grin that only he could have.

"I'm not a very good role model for you guys, am I?" I muttered as I slipped the _special _mirror into my pocket. I slowly opened the door, then motioned for the gang to follow me.

The hallway was deserted and I couldn't see or hear Zac. _Where'd he—_

"Where'd he go?" Sarah asked.

"Took the words right out my mouth," I whispered, shaking my head. I held my hand out behind me as a gesture for silence. I still couldn't hear anything, but that didn't mean there wasn't a crazy, psycho-maniac killer waiting just around the corner to ambush us.

I hesitantly poked my head around the corner. A relieved sign escaped my lips as I gazed upon the emptiness.

I motioned for everyone to quietly follow me to the front desk. I peered over—

_No one._

I turned back to the lobby and swept it for any signs.

Again, _nothing._

The front door had been flung off its hinges and part of the wall above the door was gaping open.

"Who would be tall enough to have to break through the top of the door to fit through?" Sarah asked, reaching for my hand. "Or strong enough to rip the door off its hinges?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "That's a… good question, Sarah. I don't… know."

Donnie scampered forward and grabbed my other hand, gripping it as tight as his little fist would let him.

"Hey, where'd that chick go?" Chad asked, pointing to the empty desk. It hadn't even occurred to me that the blonde was no longer at her post, where she had said she would be all night, should we need anything. _Maybe she was the one that had screamed? What if someone had kidnapped her?_ The more I thought about that, though, the more suspicious it sounded. No offense to her, but honestly—who would want to kidnap _her?_ She obviously didn't come from money, or else she wouldn't have been working here.

"Do you have to call every girl you meet, a _chick?"_ Sarah replied sarcastically, slapping him upside the head.

Chad and Sarah started arguing; I tuned them out. _Now then, think,_ I told myself. Everything was really quiet, apart from Chad and Sarah arguing. I tried to listen, but their voices kept interrupting me. "Would you two just _shut up_ for a _minute_? One minute—that's all I'm asking!" I yelled. I listened a little bit longer, but there was nothing but silence. That is, until… _"ROAR!"_

"Was that a _roar?"_ Chad asked timidly, edging closer to me.

"I don't—" I started to say, and then it hit me. It was coming from the roof!

_"ROOF!"_ I yelled and ran out the _no-longer-a-door _door until I was far enough away to see the roof. On top of the one story building, I saw the silhouette of a _very_ tall, _very_ menacing, and _very_ buff man. I saw his head tip back and then…"_ROAR!"_

"Sweet mother Rhea," Sarah mumbled, squeezing my hand.

"Come on," I yelled, running back into the motel. "We've got to get to the roof."

"Are you crazy? We have to get out of here, NOW!" Chad yelled, taking the hand Sarah had momentarily dropped. He tried to pull me towards the _non-door_ door.

I stayed rooted in my spot, surprised at the amount of strength I suddenly had, opposing Chad—buff, _football player _Chad. _Go me! _"Zac could be up there. He might be hurt. We have to help him." I weaseled my hand from Chad's, then took off again, Donnie in tow.

"We don't have any weapons," Sarah said, running up beside me.

"Yeah," Chad agreed, pacing himself beside me. "I don't think just talking to him is gonna work. We need some firepower."

"We've got to do something," I muttered. Desperately, I jumped over the front desk and ran into the room behind it. "Look for anything we could use as a weapon," I commanded, jerking open a drawer.

We quickly searched the room as thorough as possible in the very limited amount of time we had, but there just wasn't _anything _in the room—just a table, some chairs, and a kitchen cabinet thingy. Donnie found a dull butcher's knife.

"Okay, we've got something, now let's go!"

"You think _this_," Chad said, motioning to the knife, "is going to kill _that?"_

"It'll have to," I muttered, sprinting towards the stairwell.

"He's right, Jemma—if this is our only weapon, then we don't stand a chance," Sarah whispered as we ran up the stairs to the door with an _EXIT _sign.

"Just think positively," I muttered. "Maybe it's just the janitor making a roof repair."

"At night?"

"Uh… yeah."

"Why did he roar?"

"He hit his…. thumb with a… hammer," I wheezed, out of breath from running up the stairs. I yanked open the door and gasped in horror.

I heard Sarah mumble, "That's not the janitor…"

In front of us—maybe ten feet away—sniffing inside a trashcan, stood a tall—as in, _eight feet _tall_—_man. At least, his _bottom half_ was that of a really muscular man. His top half was covered in thick, coarse hair. On top of his wide meaty shoulders, was the head of a bull—horns and all.

Luckily, he hadn't seen us yet. I couldn't help but let a small laugh escape my lips. _That_ was luck to us now—the fact that a monstrous bull-man _hadn't seen us yet_.

"Holy Horseradish!" Donnie exclaimed, cowering behind me.

"There's no way this is going to work. _It'll have to,"_ Chad said, his voice becoming more shrill at the second half—the boy was making fun of me. Not that it mattered at present time—he was right. There was no way we were going to kill this thing with a dull knife. Heck, we couldn't kill it with a _sharp_ knife! I scanned the rest of the roof for anything we might be able to use but I only saw an old water hose. I probably wouldn't even hold water—there were too many holes.

"Jem, is that… _Zac_?" Sarah whispered, pointing to an area in front of the man-beast. You could just about make out his bright orange hair and neon headband.

My heart stopped. Suddenly, I couldn't catch my breath. If anything happened to that dummy—

"Yeah, but I don't think he's conscious," Chad said grimly. He looked over at me and his gaze soften. "But he's alive."

"What are we gonna do?" Donnie asked in a small, squeaky voice. His pupils were dilated in fear.

I shook my head. _Think Jemma, think! Come on, now, you do just fine in school. THINK!_

Hold on.

I felt my back pocket where a small handle was sticking out. _Thank Kron—I mean, thank the gods,_ I mentally said. I pulled the mirror out and looked down into it.

I saw twinkling stars in a black sky. I could hear someone say, "This view never gets old."

Someone else said, "I know. It always comforts me."

"Annabeth," I said as loudly as I dared, which turned out to be a small whisper.

"Yeah, Percy? What? Did you say something?" she asked.

"I don't think so. Unless my body is being possessed and now I have only partial control of it."

"Or Jemma might be calling me," Annabeth muttered. I'm sure if I could have seen her face, she would have been rolling her eyes.

Suddenly, the mirror swirled different colors and Annabeth's face appeared before me. She offered me a big smile—that is, until she saw the expression on my face. "What's going on?"

"Do you know what that is?" I turned the mirror to the man-beast.

"That is the Minotaur," Annabeth said coolly. "Why are you showing me a picture of the Mino—"

"It's not a picture," I snapped.

Her face paled. "Uh oh, they have to fight the Minotaur?" Percy asked, coming into the picture.

"Oh no," Annabeth said. She turned back to me and said, "You guys need to leave before he sees you. You've got to hurry and run. There's no way you can—"

"I can't. He has Zac!" I snapped.

"Oh." A look of understanding crossed her face. "Do you have any weapons?"

"Only this old knife," I said, holding the dull knife up.

"Most likely not Celestial Bronze," Annabeth mumbled. "Is there _anything else_ that you have with you?"

I told her about the water hose.

"Hmm…" she muttered as her face twisted in concentration.

"I know what you guys can do!" Percy suddenly said.

"No offense Hon, but I've thought it through and they don't have a chance," Annabeth said, patting Percy's hand.

"There's got to be something—" I started to say.

"My plan will work, I know it will," he said with a look of determination. He turned to face the mirror and told us his plan. None of us could a thing but nod grimly.

Annabeth looked surprised. "That wasn't half bad Seaweed Brain," she said grudgingly.

"Alright guys, time to initiate _Operation Kick Some Minotaur Butt_—"

"Hey Meat Face, whatcha doin'? Maybe you should pick on someone your own size!" Donnie yelled, sticking out his tongue at the hairy beast. _Oh Donnie, be careful_.

The Minotaur roared, turned around, and charged straight for Donnie. I jumped and pushed him out of the way just as the Minotaur tripped over the hose that Chad and Sarah were holding. The Minotaur roared and tried to get up. From the mirror, I heard Percy yell, "Jump on his back and _hold on!_ The rest should fall into place!"

I took a deep breath and ran forward, hopping onto its back. I was just in time, too.

The Minotaur stood up and tried to shake me off. I held on for dear life, my body flailing all over the place. _So this is how fruit feels as it's being grinded up in the blender for a smoothie. I have a lot in common with that fruit right now—I'm probably about to be eaten, too._

Somehow I managed to free one of my hands from the furry mass of hair that anchored me down. I grabbed on to one of its horns and pulled back.

_SNAP!_

The horn was surprisingly easy to tear off. Unfortunately, Mr. Minotaur got even angrier and threw me off his back. I landed with a thud.

I didn't have time to register the pain before the Minotaur turned on me, his black eyes glaring. With a grunt, he charged.

I kneeled on one knee, the horn in one hand, hoping Percy was right.

He was ten feet away…

Five feet away…

As he closed in on me, I shoved the horn into his furry ribcage. He stopped and roared in agony, clawing at his chest as he began to disintegrate. It was almost like he was turning to sand, except nothing fell on the floor. Before long, the only thing left was the horn lying on the ground.

"It's a good think I caught the mirror," Sarah said, handing it back to me. "It could have broken." _I guess it must have flown out of my hand when I was taking a joyride on the Minotaur._

I shoved past Sarah, straight to the trash cans were Zac was lying. I glanced over at the blonde haired receptionist lying beside him, though my attention was focused on my best friend. "It's going to be okay, Zac," I whispered. "_You're_ going to be okay."

* * *

"Hey! I think he's waking up!" Sarah shouted from beside the bed where Zac was lying. I ran over and looked at him. He had a bruise on his cheek and his arm was broken. Luckily for us, Chiron told us how to heal them, or at least, get _close_ to healing them. None of us proved to be _natural healers_, as Chiron had said.

Zac's eyes fluttered open. "What—"

"Shh! You need to rest!" Sarah said, placing a tanned hand on his forehead.

"You got attacked by the Minotaur, dude!" Donnie gushed, his eyes wide.

"Minotaur… like in myths and stuff?" Zac mumbled, blinking heavily.

"Yeah," I told him. "Just like in myths…"

Chiron piped up from the mirror in my hand. "Zacia, do you remember what happened?"

I handed the mirror to Zac and helped him sit up a little on the bed. "I remember hearing someone scream. I ran outside our room to the front desk. The hairy guy—"

"Minotaur," I corrected.

"The _Minotaur_ had just flung the doors open and walked through the wall into the lobby. He grabbed that girl," Zac pointed to the receptionist who was lying on the bed beside his own, "and started to walk out." He grimaced. "I yelled at him to stop and he turned around and grabbed me. He jumped really high and then we were on the roof. When we got up there, he just kind of threw us down. That's all I remember…"

"That's fine, Zacia. You have given us valuable information. I think we can conclude that the Minotaur was after this young girl for some reason. We can't know what that reason is though until she wakes," Chiron said. _Well duh, Chiron! I mean, come on. Monsters don't just attack _anyone,_ do they_?

As if on cue, the blonde girl moaned, "Ouch! My nooooooose hurts!" I turned to look at her.

She had white tape on her nose—it was broken. She also had a big gash on her cheek and a sprained ankle. Considering what she went through, she was _very_ lucky.

"You look rough," Zac mumbled.

"What do I look like?" she asked frantically. "I need a mirror! Let me see that one!" She reached over and snatched the mirror from Zac's hands.

"Uh, that's not a regular mirror—"

"Oh, quit hogging it to yourself, Pretty Boy," she said, looking into the mirror. She dropped it instantly and shrieked. "That better not be what I look like!"

I scowled and picked up the mirror. "Sorry Chiron. I guess you can tell that she's awake now."

"Erm… yes. May I speak to her for a moment?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, handing the mirror back to the girl. This time, she didn't drop it.

"What is this?" she asked, clearly bewildered. Her blue eyes were wide.

"It allows our two worlds to communicate," Chiron explained. He told her everything he knew about the mirror.

"That kind of makes sense," she mumbled, scratching her head. "I mean, in a weird, twisted sort of way."

"What's your name?" Donnie asked.

"I'm Natalie, Natalie White," the girl said, flashing a pearly white smile. _Note to self—brush teeth more often._

"It's nice to meet you Natalie. I'm fairly certain, but would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" Chiron asked, his voice somewhat weary.

"Uh… sure?"

Chiron asked her a few questions then concluded, "Your mother is Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty."

"She was one of the "Evil Ones". I thought they were rotting in Tartarus!" Natalie exclaimed.

I muttered, "You and me, Natalie… you and me."

* * *

**Give me an R! _R! _Give me an E! _E! _Give me a V! _V! _Give me an I! _I! _Give me an E! _E! _Give me a W! _W! _What's that spell? _REVIEW!_**


	10. We Eat Breakfast With a Monster

**Revised on 7.15.11. I added a hair under 1,000 words to this chapter. ^_^**

**Beta - Camzy**

* * *

_CRASH!_

I instinctively turned to locate the source of the noise. Was it Donnie or Chad who broke something _this time_?

_Nothing. _Everyone appeared to be milling around all peaceful and such. _What_—

I felt a gentle hand brush my finger tips and I shivered as a small shock went through my body. "It came from the mirror," Zac whispered, flashing me a pearly white smile.

"Oh," I mumbled, color rushing to my cheeks. _You'd think I'd be used to the mirror by now_, I thought to myself. "I knew that."

Upon saying that, I brought the mirror out and saw Chiron galloping into a fiery orange sun rise. _Everything's so much more colorful in their world. So lush…_

A rush of blonde hair came into view. Annabeth rolled her eyes and said, "Connor and Travis," as if that explained it all.

"Uh, who's Connor and—"

Annabeth shook her head. "They're sons of Hermes. They cause trouble all the time."

"Hey, that's my dad!" Donnie exclaimed, folding his stubby arms over his chest.

"Yeah, Chiron told me," Annabeth said, glancing over her shoulder. She whipped back around. "I gotta go. Classes will be starting soon."

The mirror swirled different colors before settling back to black. _Back to black? _I chuckled silently. _It reminded me Back in Black—a song Granny used to listen to. We'd both sing and dance to it. Who was it by? AC/DC, I think. Granny was cool like that—she _always_ listened to the outlawed music. I still don't understand why music is outlawed. That pesky rule never stopped us. I've not heard music in a long time, though. The last time I heard a few tunes was whenever they came and took—Stop Jemma!_ a little voice inside my head commanded. _Too painful!_

I shoved the mirror into my backpack then looked at my group. There was Donnie, my little mischievous, sweet smiled, Donnie. He was playing with a little toy racecar he'd had ever since I could remember. Sarah stood beside him, her back to Chad. Although she looked mad— she and Chad had just been bickering over something—her hazel eyes still sparkled with kindness. Chad, in retrospect, had eyes that'd make you think he was angry 24/7. Once you got to know Chad, though, you'd realize eyes lie. He was one of the kindest, most compassionate people I had ever met. Zac appeared to be staring at me, a thoughtful look on his face. He ran a hand through his messy carrot top, then winked at me. I stuck out my tongue at him, then turned my attention to Natalie. You'd never know she had just been through a monster attack—her blonde hair was curled to perfection, her skin blemish free, and her grey suit seemingly free of dirt, grim, or tears.

I couldn't help but smile. I was looking at the faces of my best friends—my _family_.

"So, what are we doing?" Natalie asked, bringing me back to reality. She had a bored expression on her face.

"How old are you?" Sarah asked, raising a brow.

Natalie popped the bubble she was blowing. "Why do you care, squirt?"

Sarah's eyes narrowed and a look of hurt crossed her face. "I'm not a _squirt_! I'm _thirteen_ years old!"

"And I'm _eighteen_," Natalie said with a grin, as if being older had allowed her to win some sort of prize. I never understood why people wanted to be older than they were. I figure, the older you are, the sooner you die. Simple logic, and thus far has been proven correct.

Sarah turned her back to Natalie, crossing her arms. Nat blew another bubble, seemingly pleased with herself. I had a feeling that habit was going to get on my nerves.

"Seriously, what's the plan?" Chad asked, his fists clenched.

"Well," I began. "I've given this a lot of thought, and I think I have a plan."

"And that would be?" Zac asked, inclining his towards me.

"We're going to Crater Lake!" I shouted, trying to drum up some excitement.

"YES!" Sarah shouted, punching Chad in the arm. "In yo face! I told you she'd cave!" I raised an eyebrow in Sarah's direction. A smug grin appeared on her freckled face. Aside from Sarah, everyone just sat there.

"Zac, you agree with me right?"

Zac rolled his eyes. "Yes Jem, you've got my vote. _Like always._"

"And mine!" Sarah shouted. As if I didn't know.

"Donnie?"

"I'm in." He smiled.

"Yeah, I'm comin'," Chad mumbled, winking at me despite his sour look.

We all turned to Natalie, waiting for her decision.

"Uh… I've got a job—I can't just leave that behind. And I've got a boyfriend, I can't leave him!" Natalie exclaimed.

"There will probably be more monster attacks," Zac pointed out.

"You might get hurt," Chad added.

"_You_ have a _boyfriend_?" Sarah asked.

The blonde daughter of Aphrodite's nose twitched. "_Had_," she whispered. "I _had_ a boyfriend."

"But you don't anymore?" Zac asked. After receiving a nod of agreement from Natalie, he continued. "Then there's another reason to come! You might find the guy of your dreams!"

She looked taken aback. "Sorry Ging, but I'm not your type."

Zac turned bright red, his blue eyes wide. "That's not what I—"

Nat winked at him. "Besides, I wouldn't want to cause any competition." She looked over in my direction and then it was my turn to turn tomato red.

"Zac and I are just friends," I said quickly, receiving an eye roll from Sarah. _Note to self: punch Sarah for being incompetent._

"Whatever you say, honey. I know love when I see it."

I was about to tell Natalie where she could shove her so-called _love_, whenever Donnie asked her if she wanted to come with us.

Natalie's eyebrows scrunched. "Well, okay. I'll go. Who knows…? Oregon could have some cute guys."

"That's the spirit," Chad said, punching Natalie in the arm. She shot him a dirty look in retaliation.

"I have a map. We need to chart a course. Any suggestions?" I asked, reaching into my backpack.

Zac raised his hand and spoke. "We don't need a route. We just need to go and not worry about anything."

"But we might get lost."

"Who cares!" Donnie yelled. "We'll be free! NO GROWN UPS!"

"We need a—" I started to say.

"Let's go now, Jemma!"

"This will be an amazing experience; we'll have new adventures, new opportunities, and meet new people. We have to!" Sarah pleaded.

I looked around at everyone, their eyes big and their lips puckered ever so slightly. They knew I couldn't resist.

"Oh, alright! But just for now."

"YES!" they shouted at once.

"Now, let's get out of here before another monster comes."

We piled into our stolen van, which was _stolen_ according to Donnie and Chad. Whenever I tried to explain to them that Mr. and Mrs. Howe would probably never even be back to the "home" since they were taken, they wouldn't listen. Personally, I think they said that so they could feel all high and mighty. After a few minutes of arguing over which route to take, we drove off into the sun. Hyperion must have been in a bad mood because the sun shown harshly into our eyes.

Recently, though, I've noticed a lot of the Titans in bad moods. It really begs the question of what's getting them so riled up…

"Can we stop and eat breakfast, pleeeeeeease!" Sarah and Donnie whined in unison.

It was about eight o'clock a.m.

"Well, okay. Zac, find a place to stop. I'm kinda hungry, too."

"You got it, chief!" Zac yelled, pulling off at the next off ramp. We kept our eyes peeled for one of the familiar machines they had back in the city.

"No way!" Chad squealed, pointing up ahead at a neon sign. _Lami's_ _Taste of the Homeland_, it read. What an odd name. I wondered where Lami's homeland was.

"I've never been to an actual _restaurant_ before. Please Jemma, we have to eat there!" Sarah said, pulling on my sleeve.

I shrugged my shoulders. I had never been to a restaurant, either. I motioned for Zac to turn into the parking lot.

As soon as the van was in park, we all piled out and into the little diner. Someone shouted from the back of the room to have a seat anywhere we wanted. All our eyes widened as we realized one thing: _booths! _

"Come on, Jemma! We've got to sit at one!" Donnie shouted, pulling me towards a six-seater to the side of the room. I couldn't help but grin like an idiot. This place was so cool! It was just like the diners back from the 2000s that my granny used to tell me about.

"Can you believe it? There's actually a kitchen in the back!" Chad gushed once we slid into the booth. I shook my head. We were all used to a machine that made us a single food item, which was tinted grey and boring.

"And look at that!" Sarah pointed to a machine behind us. "I think that's for the drinks!"

"So, people used to sit there on those bar seats and drink for fun?" Donnie asked, completely bewildered.

"I guess..." I said unsurely. To be quite honest, I found the whole idea rather funny. I mean, normally, people just take a pill to get the buzz alcohol provided. It's just weird to think that people had to come to a place like this and drink something to get that feeling.

"Here's your food," the waitress said, bringing it over in a large tray. Having someone actually bring us food and wait for us was really cool. It didn't even occur to me that we hadn't ordered any food yet.

I looked up at the waitress to thank her, but I found that I couldn't see past her neck. For some strange reason, I couldn't look at her face.

"Thanks," Donnie mumbled as he started shoveling French Fries into his mouth.

The waitress stood there, observing Donnie. I read her name tag—_Lami_. Ah, so she's the owner of the place, then.

"Excuse me, Lami, could you get us some more napkins. Thanks."

I was trying to get her to leave but she completely ignored me like she couldn't hear a word I said.

"Zac, say something," I said urgently.

But Zac couldn't hear me either. He was stuffing down a whole pizza.

I looked at everyone else.

They, too, were stuffing themselves with mounds and mounds of food. All of them seemed completely unaware of their surroundings.

Suddenly, the smell of grilled chicken sandwiches, tater tots, salad, and baked beans overpowered my senses. All I could think about was the food.

I gave Lami a fleeting glance.

I looked back down at my food and grabbed my spoon, scooping up some beans.

_Wait a minute. _

I looked back up at the waitress.

Her face was distorted; her eyes were swollen, red, and bleeding. Her nose was covered in flaky blood, and her mouth was opened in a snarl.

I did the only rational thing… I screamed bloody murder!

Zac whipped his head up from his pizza and looked from me to Lami, back to me, then back to Lami.

"Sweet mother Rhea! What's—"

"Sarah, Donnie, Chad, Natalie, we need to go, NOW!" I yelled, trying to get them to slide out of the booth. Luckily I was on the outside of the booth, so I stood up and tried to pull them out. They wouldn't budge.

No one listened. They just sat there, taking bite after bite of their food.

I looked back at Lami. Her uniform had changed from a red vest and pants, to a white flowing dress with red stains. Her torso and arms were made of snake skin.

Zac shot a quick glance at me and said, "I'm guessing she's some sort of magical creature. We need to lure her away from everyone else."

I nodded and bluntly ran up to her. I tried to knock her down but fell to the floor with a satisfying _crunch! _To avoid confusion, it would be satisfying to her. To me, nah. My elbow throbbed in pain.

"That's not gonna work," I mumbled, standing up.

"It's like she doesn't even notice what we're doing," Zac said, his eyes fixed on Lami.

"What do we do? I mean, she's not hurting anybody," I pointed out.

"Not yet," Zac said. "Is the mirror with you? We could ask Annabeth and Percy for help."

I said, "I don't want to be dependent on them. We can do this by ourselves."

I changed my mind moments later when the waitress started growing. Soon, she was as tall as the ceiling and was getting even bigger.

"She's going to break through the roof any minute! We have to get everyone out of here!" Zac yelled.

The ceiling started to crack from the strain.

"It's coming down!" Zac shouted. "Try to shelter everyone! NOW!"

All at once, the roof started crumbling and lumps of concrete and other building supplies rained down on us. I managed to jump on top of Donnie and Sarah, so they weren't hurt.

With a giant grunt, Lami burst through the roof and a huge slab of concrete fell on top of Zac, Chad, and Natalie.

"Zac!" I cried, my voice muffled by the crumbling.

More concrete fell. A semi-large piece fell on my legs, pinning me down.

"Zac!" I tried to yell once more, but my voice was drowned out

Suddenly, everything went quiet.

* * *

**As per my usual closing, review, yeah?**


	11. Zac Attack

**So, I know it's been a while since I've updated, so here it is... enjoy!**

**DISCLAMIER: PJo isn't mine; all my characters and plot belong to me, B. D. Legan.**

"The Rules…" a voice cried out. "You can't disobey… The Rules…"

A bright light flashed, sending a wave of heat over everything. Someone screamed so terribly that it made my blood boil.

Silence.

A deep voice whispered, "Go, they will protect you."

"How do you know?" a smaller, high pitched voice whispered back.

"I have risked everything for this, now go."

"I- I-"

"Go, and remember what I told you." A bright flash clouded my vision. There was no more whispering.

With one last struggle to stay awake, I drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

_"Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetops. When the wind blows, the cradle will fall. And down will come baby, cradle and all…"_

My eyes fluttered open and I tried to prop myself up as best as I could. My leg was throbbing painfully. We were in a cave that was very dark and wet. I scanned the room for my group.

Zacia was lying a few feet away from me. His arm was bandaged up and a piece of cloth was wrapped around his head. He was breathing quickly and kept twitching.

Everyone else looked fine; just a few cuts and scrapes.

They were all asleep.

In the corner of the enclosure, there was a girl I hadn't seen before.

She looked about fifteen or sixteen with honey blonde, shoulder length hair. Her bangs fell over her eyes and a slight smirk lit up her face. She was wearing a regulation grey suit with a pair of yellow sandals.

"Umm… were you singing?" I asked the mystery girl.

She blushed and said, "Yeah, I'm sorry… I just really like to sing!"

"It's okay…" I said. "What song was that, anyway?"

"Oh… I'm not really sure what it's called. It just popped into my head."

"Hmm…" That song was so familiar…

_Oh duh! _

My great-grandma used to sing it to me a long time ago…

The girl continued looking at me.

"Er… who are you?" I boldly asked.

"Alexa Musagetes," she muttered.

"I'm Jemma-" I started to say.

"I know. That's Zacia, Sarah, Chad, Donnie, and Natalie," she said, pointing at all my friends.

"How do you-"

"He told me…" she murmured.

"Huh? Who's 'he'?" I quizzed.

"Umm…"

She looked at me, indecision flickering on her face.

"Just a person…"

"Here's another question," I began. "Where are we and how did we get here? And what happened to Lami, our waitress-turned-monster?"

"I brought you guys here," she said, "and tried to heal you."

"How?" Zac asked, waking up, his voice demanding. I could tell he was in pain.

"I took out that mirror you had and asked Chiron what to do."

"How did you know about my mirror?" I practically yelled.

The others stirred in their sleep.

"He told-"

"He told you, right?" I shouted. "Who is he?"

Zac looked over at me, his eyes piercing.

"Jem, chillax. She saved us. That's all that matters."

I sighed, my temper barely under control. "What happened to Lami?"

"She was blasted to smithereens!" Alexa said brightly.

"How did you manage that?" Zac asked, clutching his head. "She was a fifteen foot monster, and no offense, but you're not that big."

"He did it… just before he left!" Alexa exclaimed.

"OHMIGOSH! Will you just tell us who _he_ is???" I yelled.

The rest of my group started waking up.

Zac put his hand on mine. "Jem," he whispered. "Calm down. Just relax…"

I looked back at Alexa. She was still smirking at us, her amber eyes shining under a wave of blonde hair.

"I'm sorry… I just need to know what's going on," I said, trying to smile at her.

"It's okay…" she said brightly. "I just think it's cool to be around people!"

"Err… What- no… never mind," I muttered.

"What's going on?" Chad asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I think," I began, glancing at Zac, "that we just found another member of our group."

"Cool!" Sarah said, sitting up.

"Who's her parent?" Donnie wondered.

"We don't know yet," Zac announced, slightly irritated.

"Ask Chiron," Chad suggested.

"Okay…" I said, reaching for my back pocket.

Alexa said, "The mirror is right here. But why do we have to ask Chiron who my godly parent is? I already kn-

"Never mind, here it is," she finished, handing me the mirror.

"Thanks," I mumbled and peered into the mirror.

The mirror was lit up by a gorgeous blue hue.

"That's sooo pretty!" Sarah said over my shoulder.

"Yeah…" I said in a daze.

"Jemma, concentrate," Zac urged.

Suddenly, a shock went through my entire body. The hairs on my arm stood straight up.

"That was… intense," I murmured.

"Sorry…" Zac scooted away from me so we weren't touching.

I turned my attention back to the mirror. I yelled, "CHIRON! ANNABETH! PERCY! HELLO… anyone?"

"You didn't call Nico," a brooding voice replied. The mirror swirled and Nico appeared.

"Nico? What are you doing?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing," he said quickly.

"So… do you know where Annabeth and Chiron are?" I asked.

"Preferably Chiron," Zac added.

"They're at the archery field," Nico explained.

"Aren't you supposed to be all doom and gloom? Why are you outside?" Chad asked.

Nico's face flushed again. "I was getting a tan…" he admitted.

I tried to not crack up. "A tan?"

"Yeah…" he said. He changed his tone quickly and said, "What do you want?"

"They want Chiron to tell me who my godly parent is," Alexa informed.

"Turn the mirror so I can see who was talking," Nico commanded.

I turned the mirror so it was facing Alexa. "Well that's an easy one!" Nico exclaimed.

I turned the mirror back and asked, "Who?"

"Apollo, the god of music, poetry, archery, prophecies, and a whole lotta other stuff."

"That's great! Now you know who your dad is!" Donnie said to Alexa.

Alexa just nodded. She didn't look surprised at all.

"Well… I guess I'd better go…" Nico said, the mirror swirling before returning to its dark form.

"Isn't that just adorable? He was tanning!" Sarah gushed.

We all turned our heads to look at her.

"Eh… I'm going to go tidy up my area over there…" Sarah said, quickly fleeing the area.

"I think someone has a wittle crush," Natalie smirked before walking over to Sarah. They sat down on the ground and started talking.

"Where are we going next?" Chad asked.

"I think we-" I began to say.

Alexa butted, "We need to go to Nashville."

"Nashv-"

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "Nashville. It'll work, just trust me!"

"Um… okay. Let's go to Nashville…"

"Great!" Alexa exclaimed. "Let's g-"

Suddenly, her eyes seemed distant, as if she was in a different world.

"Hey, Alexa, everything okay?" Chad asked.

Then, Alexa fell down on her knees. She shook her head a few times and slowly got up.

"You alright?" I asked softly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She looked at me, worry in her amber eyes. "We have to go, NOW."

"Why? What's go-" Zac started to ask before Alexa put her hand up to silence us.

"What are we liste-" Donnie tried to ask.

Alexa snapped, "We've got to hurry. There's no way the cave will hold up…"

She started muttering to herself as she threw all the things that were lying around into various bags.

"What's up with her?" I mouthed to Zac.

He shrugged his shoulders and marched over to Alexa.

"Hey," he whispered. "I think we need to calm down a bit. Now tell me, what's about to happen?"

She whipped around and smacked his on the cheek. The stinging noise rang through the air. Zac's face had a mixture of shock, rage, and confusion.

Zac eyes started glowing and his hair stood straight up. The air around him was cackling with electricity.

"Zac?" I took a tentative step forward. "Zac? What are you doing?"

The air was heating up and Alexa had fallen to the ground and was huddled inside a corner, terror on her face.

Sarah and Natalie were cowering in another part of the cave, and Donnie and Chad were behind me.

"Zac, you need to calm down."

He began to rise off the ground, sparks of electricity bouncing off him.

"Zac," I said firmly. "ZAC! Listen to me, you need to calm down."

I was telling him the same things that he always told me when I got mad.

More electricity was building around him, really lighting up the place. He had risen about a foot off the ground.

"Zac, please…" I pleaded, my voice quivering.

He had risen a foot and a half off the ground. Slowly, he was floating towards Alexa.

When he was within two meters of her, I made up my mind.

I yelled and ran straight at him, planning to tackle him.

Zac, not even turning to look at me, pointed his finger, and a lightning bolt shot out of it, straight at my chest… my heart to be exact.

I flew backwards, a scream escaping my lips.

The last thing I saw was Zac falling to the ground in a heap…

**Thanks for reading! And thanks Camzy, for being an awesome beta! Pretty please... review!!!**

**And, I'd like to also thank Kanae Valentine. Alexa is now a team member! **

**Remember... REVIEW!!!**


	12. My Rocky Grave

**Sorry it's been so long again... I know, excuses...excuses...excuses... BUT... this chapter is longer than the others, so this should be better!**

**DISCLAIMER: Percy Jackson isn't mine... My own character and plot are... who's else but mine?**

"No, I cannot allow it," a man said. His deep, gravelly voice echoed around the room, sucking the warmth out of the air.

I tried to find the speaker, but there was only a small dot of light fifty feet away. The lengthy room was cold and damp, like someplace underground.

"Please, it would improve everything we have. Everything the humans have…" pleaded another man, his voice bouncing off the walls eerily.

"Let me make this clear, I do _not _care about the humans," the man with the deep voice replied coldly.

"But, you have to-"

"I don't have to do anything. You should be going now. It's nearing sunrise, and you have a job to do."

"Yes, my Lord," the other man replied weakly.

"Good, now-" His tone changed abruptly, as if sensing danger. "Hold on, someone is here."

"No, no! I sense no one," the other man said a bit too quickly.

I held my breath. Seconds ticked by, and sweat began to pool in the small of my back.

One of the two men cleared his throat.

"Go, I am tired of your nonsense," the man with the deep voice snapped.

Suddenly, the room exploded with heat and I was sure my face had just melted…

I woke up from the dream, gasping for air, my hands reaching for my face.

_Still there, thank goodness._

My eyes fluttered open, but I still couldn't see much.

I was pressed up against large slabs of grey rock, which made it hard for me to breath. The only light I saw was streaming through the cracks in between the boulders.

I was trapped.

I tried to wiggle around, but I couldn't even do that. I had a feeling that moving even one tiny rock would cause all the other rocks to crumble on top of me.

I didn't want to die yet.

"Help me," I called out.

No response.

"Hello? Is anybody out there? Can anyone hear me?"

Still, no response.

_Okay… don't panic…_ I thought to myself. _Someone will come. I've just got to be patient. I'm lucky I'm even alive… _

_But what happened?_

I remembered running straight at Zac. He pointed his finger at me and…

I don't know what happened after that.

I thought the electricity hit me, but that couldn't be right, could it?

I wouldn't be here otherwise unless I was already dead…

"Focus," a voice whispered inside my head. "Use your strengths to your advantage."

I jumped, hit the rocks, and stirred dust that made me cough. _Okay, I'll go with this._

"Easy for you to say," I retorted out loud. "You're not the one trapped under a rock."

"Are you really trapped under a rock, or is the rock trapped under you?"

I jumped again. _I must be going crazy. Why else would I be talking to a voice inside my head?_

"No answer?" the voice taunted.

"Would you leave me alone? I'm trying to think in here!"

"Think, yes… just think about it," the voice cooed.

_Umm… okay. If the rock is trapped under me, that means I'm on top of the rock. That would mean I'm actually lying on my stomach instead of my back._

"It's called reverse psychology," the voice interrupted.

"What? Huh? Oh… never mind…" I muttered under my breath.

With a giant heave, I tried to push off of the rock I was lying on.

No results.

"Just keep trying," the voice suggested.

I took a deep breath and pushed again.

This time, I felt the rocks shift a little bit.

"That's it," the voice cheered.

I pushed the boulder with every bit of strength I had. Slowly but surely, I began to rise, sending rocks tumbling off my back.

With one last heave, I broke through my rocky prison.

_I'M FREE!_

_Wow,_ I thought. _I guess things aren't always what they seem._

"Remember what you're saying, it will be an important role in your future," the voice-inside-my-head said.

_My future? You know my future? What is it?_

"The past…" the voice whispered.

"But… I don't-" I mumbled.

But the voice said nothing more.

I stood on top of my mound of rocks (which was embarrassingly small) and looked around. There were six, identical piles of rocks scattered around the cave.

"Uh… hello? Can anyone hear me?" I yelled.

No one responded.

I stumbled down my mound of rocks and went to the nearest pile. I tried to pull the rocks off the top, but they wouldn't budge.

A little worried, I raced down that mound and up the next and tried to pull the rocks off that one too, with the same result.

Frantically, I tried to pull the rocks off of all six piles, but they wouldn't move at all, no matter what angle or side I lifted or pulled from.

_Okay, let's try this._

I crouched low to the ground, and took off running full speed towards one of the mounds.

_Crunch!_ That was the sound my shoulder made when it hit the rock wall. I staggered backwards, gripping my shoulder.

Without a better idea, I sat down on the hard ground and sighed.

What was I going to do?

My friends, my family, are probably stuck inside those rock heaps. They won't be able to breathe soon and they'll die and I'll be all alone…

"Yes!" someone with a high voice exclaimed.

I turned towards the sound. Alexa was standing up and dusting herself off from the top of one of the piles of rocks.

"Alexa!" I shouted.

"Oh, hi Jemma!" she waved.

"Umm… how did you get out of that? The rocks were stuck in place. I tried and tried to yank them off, but they wouldn't budge. I even tried to knock them down. I think I popped my shoulder out of place."

She skipped down her mound and over to me.

"The Culcas can only be broken from the inside. And the only way you can break them from the inside is if you figure out that the obvious isn't so obvious!"

"They're called Culcas?"

"Yep!" she said brightly. She looked down at my shoulder. "Do you want me to heal that?"

"What?"

"I could heal your shoulder if you wanted," she said.

"How can you do that?" I asked.

"The genes of Apollo, duh!"

Alexa knelt down beside me, muttered a few words, and with her fingertips glowing, touched my shoulder. Immediately, the pain went away.

"There. That should do it."

I moved my shoulder back and forth. It was good as new!

"How did you learn to harness your powers like that? I can't control water yet," I wondered.

She sat down beside me. "He taught me the basics of healing. He's a really good teacher."

"Who is 'he'?" I asked, slightly agitated.

She sat there, acting as though she didn't hear me.

Changing the subject, I asked, "Umm… what happened after… after Zac zapped me?"

"You remember, don't you? You pulled out that mirror and held in front of your chest. The spark bounced off and hit the ceiling, and-"

"The ceiling collapsed, leaving us buried like we were," I finished.

"No, that's not what happened," she said. "After the spark hit the top of the cave, it started cracking. That's when the Oppadim broke through the roof and the rocks came tumbling down. He cast a spell on the rocks so that they would compact us. Each Culca is soundproof, and it can't be broken from the outside-"

"How did you know what it was that did this to us?" I asked.

"They're a new breed of monster that they were trying to create."

"But how do you know? And who's 'they'?"

"He always told me about new monster plans, so I could be prepared," Alexa explained.

_Here we go again_, I thought to myself.

"Who's 'he'?"

She looked at me, her amber eyes flickering with indecision. "Well…"

"Can you at least tell me his name?"

"H-his name was… Ri."

She said it like _reee._

"Okay, how did Ri know about the new monsters?" I asked.

"I-I-" Alexa stuttered.

Sarah broke through the rocks and immediately yelled my name. Reluctantly, I jogged over to Sarah's mound and tried to comfort her.

Soon, everyone else broke free. Everyone was a bit shaken, but no real harm was done. Zac was standing off to the side, away from everyone, with a guilty look on his face.

"Zac," I whispered to him, slowly walking in his direction.

Zac started backing up.

"D-don't come near me. I could hurt you again."

"But you didn't hurt me," I said, still approaching him.

"I almost killed you, Jemma. Don't you understand?" Zac stopped backing up because he was against the wall.

"I know it wasn't your fault," I said gently.

"It was. Whose fault was it, if not mine?"

"Zac," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Electricity raced through my hand. "You would never hurt me on purpose. You wouldn't."

"How do you know?" he whispered, his eyes piercing.

"You're my best friend, Zac. We've been together forever. Worse things have happened, and we'll get through this. We can't let a little accident like this break us apart."

He stared into my eyes, indecision flickering on his face.

"Fine," he smiled.

I hugged him tightly.

"But," he said urgently.

"I want to ask Chiron if it's normal for children of Zeus to act this way. Maybe he'll know some way to control this."

Then he pulled away, held me at arm's length, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"S'okay," I whispered back, leading him back to everyone else.

"Come on, Chiron. It's gotta be there somewhere," Alexa said into the mirror.

She had the mirror about six inches from her face, and her hair had fallen onto her face, shielding the picture from view.

"Alexa! How did you get the mirror?! It was in my back pocket!" I yelled, swiping the mirror from her hands.

"Hey! I was-" Alexa continued yelling at me.

I tuned her out and peered into the mirror.

Chiron, in his wheel chair, was rolling back and forth between shelves of books. He kept pulling out books, sifting through the pages, and then throwing them onto the table in the middle of the small library.

"Alexa, how do you even know of the book?" Chiron asked, not breaking pace.

Alexa took the mirror from me and said, "Ri used to read me stories from it."

"And you said the book was large with a solid black cover?" Chiron quizzed.

"Yep. It's huge and really old, like the pages are yellow and stuff," Alexa said loudly.

"Alexa, what's going on? What are you talking about?" I asked her.

She turned to look at me. "I remember this story," Alexa began.

She took her time to choose her words.

"And I think it will tell us some things."

"Like what?" Zac asked.

"You'll see!" she smiled and turned her attention back to the mirror.

"Come on Chiron, it's there. Ri said it would be."

"I'm looking… I'm looking…" Chiron called out behind stacks of books.

"Hey, you guys?" I asked the rest of my group.

They all looked at me, waiting for me to speak.

"How did you guys figure out how to get out of the Culcas?"

"Umm… a voice told me how…" Donnie mumbled.

"Hey! Me too," Chad said.

"Really?" I wondered. "What about the rest of you?"

"A girl's voice told me, as well," Sarah said.

Natalie nodded her head, "Me too."

I turned to Zac who slowly nodded his head.

"What does it mean?" Donnie asked.

Zac and I looked at each other, "Someone's helping us."

"Who?" Sarah asked.

I told them I didn't know.

"Well that stinks…" Chad said.

"Is this it?" Chiron asked.

Turning around, I heard Alexa exclaim, "It is!"

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "This is an old book. One I had nearly forgotten…"

"Read the story!" Alexa exclaimed.

"The whole thing?" Donnie wondered.

"No silly! There are thousands of stories in the book!" Alexa said impatiently.

"What kind of stories are in the book?" I asked.

"Ri said it told the past, present, and future. It tells you everything you could think of…"

"Uh… what?" Natalie asked.

"Everything that has ever happened and ever will happen is written in the book."

"Wow! Really?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah, it's really interesting!"

I looked into the mirror. Chiron was pouring through the book, hungrily taking in everything he read.

"Amazing…" he mumbled.

"Chiron, go to page six thousand and… twelve, maybe… I don't remember exactly," Alexa said excitedly.

Chiron turned the book to that page. "The title for this portion is December 21, 2012."

"Oh, my bad. That's one of my favorite stories!" Alexa giggled. "Umm… go to the back of the book. The story should be written on the back cover."

Reluctantly, Chiron turned to the back and began to read to himself.

"Chiron, please read it out loud. We all need to hear it," Alexa commanded.

Chiron looked up from the book. "Sorry, well, here goes…"

**Thank you so much for reading! Please, tell me how this chapter was. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I don't bite... at least not alot...**

**And thanks Camzy, my dear beta. You don't know how much he's helped me improve with my writing!**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!**


	13. Mind Control and Lightning Bolts

**Sorry this took so long to update. There have been some problems, but they're all taken care of, I think... **

**DISCLAIMER: Percy Jackson and the Olympians does nto belong to me. My characters and plot are mine. (Basically, this whole story is mine)**

"It has long been foretold that the reign of the gods will end," Chiron began.

He looked up in confusion.

"This is written a long time ago," he whispered.

"Ri said it was written before the existence of, well… everything," Alexa said.

"That book doesn't look that old!" Chad pointed out.

"The book changes shape, form, and location. It goes where it is needed most," Alexa explained.

"Huh?" Natalie muttered.

Alexa thought for a moment.

"For example," she started. "Say, the very first time these words were written, they were written on a stone in the bottom of the ocean. When the book was needed, it simply vanished from its first site, changed form, and ended up someplace else. It's an endless cycle."

"You know a lot about this, Miss Musagetes," Chiron said admiringly.

"As a child, all I did was study," Alexa said brightly.

"But wait, why couldn't the book just come to us, in this time? Why does Chiron have it?" Sarah asked.

"Honestly, do you think we need a humungous book like that? We'd have to haul it around everywhere with us. We just need the information," Alexa explained.

"Why couldn't the book have taken the shape of something smaller and easier to carry?" Zac wondered.

"Because this is the way it is written in the book. It's what's supposed to happen."

"I just don't know why it can't take some other form…" Zac said, his voice higher than normal in agitation.

"IT CAN'T TAKE ANOTHER FORM!" Alexa shouted. After calming down a bit, she said: "Besides, it takes a long time for the book to change form."

Zac's lowered his eyebrows, but his eyes still bounced with electricity.

"Zac," I whispered to him. "Calm down. Let's not argue, at least not here."

He turned to look at me and his gaze softened. "Yeah, okay… I'm sorry."

I smiled and turned to the mirror once more.

"Chiron, care to read the story?"

"Yes, well, let me just restart…" Chiron mumbled.

He took a moment to compose himself then resumed the story.

"It has long been foretold that the reign of the gods will end. It is inevitable. As the gods fade into a forgotten realm, they will pass themselves into a mortal. These beings will be stronger than demi-gods, but weaker than the gods themselves. The gods will forever preside inside these beings, a silent reminder of what once was."

"This is spooky…" Chad muttered.

"Chad," Sarah said sternly. "Don't interrupt him."

Turning to Chiron, she said, "Please finish reading."

Clearing his throat, Chiron said, "The heading for this paragraph is: _How It Shall Be Done_."

"Go on, read it," Alexa commanded.

Chiron nodded and continued, "Each god in his or her weakest form will be drawn to a certain individual who possesses certain remarkable qualities. As each day passes and more and more power is drained from the gods, the mortal will slowly die. Just before the mortal's last breath, the gods will envelope their mortal holders, filling the carrier's nearly empty shell with their godly presence. The mortal and god now coexist within one another."

"What?" Donnie wondered.

I looked to the mirror for help but Chiron was holding his head, eyes closed, muttering to himself.

I turned to Alexa. She was smiling, her smile so white it was blinding.

"Hey Alexa, you understand what that means, right? Tell us, please."

"I understand perfectly! But I'd rather hear Chiron's speculations first."

"Right…" Zac muttered.

Alexa said to Chiron, "Read the rest of the page. It may make more sense then."

Chiron read, "The subheading is: _What Will Happen_."

"Come on. Read, man, READ!" Sarah demanded.

"Just before the prophecy is revealed, the gods will become a part of their beings."

"The prophecy has already been said, right?" I assumed.

"Yeah, by my aunt," Zac remembered.

"You know, this makes sense. You've all said that monster attacks didn't start until later on in your life. This could be the reason why," Chiron said.

"What makes sense?" Natalie wondered.

"You are the reincarnation of the gods," Chiron whispered.

Zac laughed loudly.

"Why are you laughing?" Alexa asked innocently.

Still chuckling, Zac said, "Oh yeah, I'm a god. That makes _complete_ sense."

"Zacia, I think it is true." Chiron said.

Alexa smiled. "Yes! It is! I was dying to keep the secret, but it was killing me!"

"S-so I'm really Hermes?" Donnie asked.

"In a sense, yes," Chiron nodded.

"And I'm Aphrodite? It does make sense though," Natalie said conceitedly. "I'm gorgeous and everyone falls in love with me!"

"Yeah, and she's also full of herself," Sarah whispered to me. I rolled my eyes in agreement.

"So, I'm still confused. I am Ares, or Ares is just a part of me?" Chad asked.

"You are still your own person, I think," Chiron said the last part quietly.

"Yeah, we're all still our own person, but the gods exist inside our bodies. Well… their essence, anyways," Alexa explained.

"I thought they were in Tartarus," Natalie said.

"Technically speaking," Alexa began. "Their bodies are down there, but their minds and spirits are inside us."

"Do you think the gods were the ones who told us how to escape from the Culcas?" I asked.

"Culcas?"

We told Chiron what happened back in the cave.

"I'm sure the gods helped escape," Chiron said. "It must have been Athena."

Alexa looked at all of us. "But the only way the gods can project thoughts is if they're close to us."

"If you are right and I think you are, then where is Athena?" Chiron wondered. "Someone new must have joined your party."

_Am I the one you're looking for?_ A girl's voice spoke inside my head.

We all jumped in shock.

"Did you hear that?" Natalie asked dumbly.

We nodded our heads in unison.

"Uh… who's there?" Zac called out.

A girl stepped out from behind a tree.

Her pale skin stood out in contrast with the dark forest. She ran her hand through her short, spiky black hair. She was tall, at least five-foot eight, and skinny. She pulled her oversized camouflage coat around her, almost as if she were hiding the grey suit beneath.

"Who are you?" We all said at the same time.

_My name is Desdemona, but you can call me Des_, the voice said inside my head.

"I'm not crazy, am I? You guys can hear her too, right?" Sarah queried.

"What's happening?" Chiron asked. "Turn the mirror, so I can see."

We adjusted the mirror so that Chiron could see the new arrival.

"And who might you be?" he inquired politely.

_Is that mirror talking?_ the voice asked.

"Okay, where is the voice coming from?" Chad demanded.

"You're Des, aren't you?" Donnie said.

The mysterious girl in front of us nodded her head. _Finally, someone understands._

"Can you talk out loud?" Alexa asked.

Des shook her head. _No._

Alexa looked really excited. "Ri always told me about the powers Athena had. He said that they would be passed down to the mortal. So, Des, what can you do?"

Des smiled an evil smile. _Do you really wanna know?_

Alexa said, "Of course!"

_Don't say I didn't warn you!_ Des said as her eyes started to change.

Des's eyes seemed to melt into darkness, and suddenly, Alexa stood straight up, her eyes unfocused. Then, the child of Apollo started doing the chicken dance.

"Are you doing this, Desdemona?" Chiron asked, bewildered.

_My name is Des, and yes, I can control people's minds._

"She prefers to be called Des, and she says she can control minds," I said out loud, for Chiron's benefit.

"Remarkable," Chiron muttered.

"Des, did you help us out of the Culcas?" Donnie asked.

_Yeah, well, technically it was Athena, but I did all the work._

"How did you know where we were?" Chad asked.

_Athena told me where to look._

"You know, I really don't think I believe her," Zac said quietly.

"Desdem- I mean Des, you need to release your grip on Alexa's mind. This could cause permanent damage," Chiron said worriedly.

Des's eyes turned back to their normal color, and Alexa regained control of her mind.

"I've got a way to prove it!" Alexa exclaimed, clearly not fazed by the mind control.

She threw a ring off her finger. But Instead of falling to the ground, the ring transformed into a bow of light. The bow was, literally, made of sunshine. It was so bright that I couldn't look directly at it.

Alexa held the bow up and strung an arrow aimed at Des. As she released the bowstring, and an arrow of light shot out.

Des's grey eyes grew big as the arrow streaked towards her. She waved her hand and the air around her seemed to rearrange itself. The arrow should have struck Des right between the eyes, but instead, it hit an invisible wall and disintegrated.

"She's good!" Alexa said approvingly.

"How did you do that?" Donnie asked in awe.

Des shrugged her shoulders.

"More importantly, where did that bow come from?" Zac exclaimed.

Alexa looked at us like we were crazy. "Everyone has their god's symbol of power, right?"

"That's Apollo's Bow of Light?" Chiron asked.

"The one and only!" Alexa replied with a smile.

"So all of you have your god's weapon?" Chiron wondered.

"Uh… I don't," I said.

"Me neither," Zac supplied.

Everyone else shook their heads.

"Well, your weapons may be something that you've always had, something that's special to you, that you've always kept with you." Alexa explained.

"Like what?" Sarah asked.

"Like my ring," Alexa said as she tossed the bow up into the air. The bow transformed into the golden ring as it slipped onto her finger.

No one said anything.

"For example," She looked around. "Jemma, you always have those earrings on."

I reached up to my ears. I was wearing my tear drop earrings that my great-grandma gave me. She told me to always keep them on, no matter what.

Alexa walked over to me, yanked out my left earring, and tossed it into the air. It fell with a thud, still a tear drop.

"First of all, that hurt, and second, those are very special to me," I spat as I reached down and picked up the earring.

"Try the other one," Alexa urged.

"No, I-"

"Come on, just try it," Natalie probed.

"Fine," I said as I gently removed the right earring. I tossed it up into the air and immediately, it began to change shape, elongating.

A moment later, a long pitchfork flew into my hand, glowing a faint blue.

"The Trident of Poseidon… astounding" Chiron mused.

"Wow…" I stammered as I admired the beautiful weapon. It felt cool in my hand, almost like water.

Zac took the green head band off his head and tossed it in the air. It began to twist and change shape. A yellow lightning bolt, cackling with electricity, flew into his hand. His red hair stood up on end.

"Zeus's Master Bolt…" Chiron mumbled.

Zac raised the bolt into the air and pointed at a nearby tree. A beam of electricity shot out from the tip of the bolt, lighting the tree on fire.

"Sweet!" Zac yelled in delight.

"Not sweet. The fire is spreading to the other trees! Soon the whole forest will be on fire!" Sarah exclaimed.

The trident in my hand began to tremble ever so slightly, almost like it wanted to be used. I held the trident up and a gush of water spouted from the end, dousing the fire.

"Jeez… how'd you know to do that, Jem?" Chad wondered.

"I-I think the trident wanted to do that," I stammered.

"Perhaps Poseidon influenced it," Chiron suggested.

Donnie asked timidly, "Zac, why did you do that in the first place?"

Zac looked at Donnie, his eyes wild. "It felt… good."

"It felt good to destroy nature?" Sarah gasped.

Zac smiled, a menacing half grin, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Zac," Chiron interrupted. "Maybe you should put the bolt away."

Zac snapped his head towards the mirror and narrowed his eyes.

"Seriously dude, put it away. You're scaring us," Chad said.

"Why? I'm destined to have this," Zac said defensively.

I reached out for Zac's shoulder. As I touched his arm, a shock went through my body, jarring my teeth. Zac whipped his arm free, and I grabbed it back.

"Zacia Lorenzo Stevens," I said sternly.

He looked at me, his eyes flashing with anger. With some effort, he threw the bolt up into the air and it transformed into the neon headband. It slipped onto his head as it fell and he collapsed on the ground.

"Oh dear," Chiron mumbled. "I think Zeus may want more freedom than he's allowed."

"So that's Zeus that's acting like that, not Zac?" Natalie asked.

"I believe so," Chiron said.

"How are we supposed to control it?" Sarah asked.

Chiron opened his mouth to speak, but Alexa interrupted again. "Chiron, I think the book will tell us. Turn to..."

**Oh, the suspense!!! Okay, thank you all for reading. Now then, I have some things to adress before your REVIEW:**

**1.) Thanks Camzy for betaing my work.**

**2.) The name Desdemona means "misery", so I thought it was relavent. Des is miserable because she can't talk outloud.**

**3.) Please go to Disney101's profile and vote for my story, First Encounters: Hades and Maria. It was entered into a contest. It's mean alot to me if you could vote for it!!!**

**4.) Thank you everyone for reading. Please review! If you have any questions, just ask!!!**


	14. The Almost Kiss

**Hey everybody! Remember me? Yeah, I'm the author of this story. I know I've been away for a while, but now I'm ready to get back into the habit. I had quite the scare the other day, though. I had a really bad allergy attack where I couldn't breathe. After a doctor's visit, I found out I have broncitis (spelling?) I know, it's not major, but I have to use an inhaler. **

**A quick note before you read: I won't be able to update for a while because my family is preparing to go on a cruise! Exciting, I know. Two weeks, and I should be back and ready to update again.**

**DISCLAIMER: PJO= Not mine...**

"The very middle of the book."

"The very middle?" Chiron asked as he began to flip through the pages.

"Yep!" Alexa said brightly.

_Is she always this… happy? _Des asked.

"From what I've seen of her, she is," I said aloud.

"What? Who?" Sarah asked.

"Alexa, obviously," I answered.

"What about Alexa?" Sarah wondered, looking at Alexa. She was gazing into the mirror telling Chiron to keep turning the pages.

I turned to face Des. "Did you say that in my head?"

Des nodded her head.

"Uh… I'm confused," Sarah said.

"Ah… Don't mind me…" I said.

"Right there!" Alexa yelled. "No! Now you're too far, go back a bit!"

"I'm sorry! I'm trying!" Chiron's weary voice chimed.

"Great… You passed it AGAIN, Ron!" Alexa shouted.

"Ron? Seriously?" Chad laughed.

"Couldn't you give me a page number since you obviously know exactly where it is," Chiron suggested.

"No! Just keep looking!" Alexa urged.

Chiron kept furiously turning the pages while Alexa continued to yell at him.

"Hey Sarah," Chad yelled. "Go long!" He picked up a large stone and heaved it with all his might towards her.

Her eyes grew wide as she opened her mouth in a silent scream.

_Must I do everything? _Des said with a sigh. With a flash of her eyes and a flick of her wrist, the stone disintegrated in the air. Small chips rained down on top of our heads.

"Whoa dude, that was a major fast ball!" Donnie admired. "Awesome!"

"Sheah! Did you see the curve on that baby? Amazing!" Chad bragged.

"I know. I totally saw it. It was-" Donnie began to say.

"You could have killed me!" Sarah shouted.

"Good thing Diss was there to save you, then," Chad said.

_It's DES. D- E- S. DES. Got it? _Des said angrily. _And I wouldn't need to do that if you weren't so stupid._

"Hey! I'm not stupid," Chad said defensively.

_Really? Why do I find that so hard to believe? _Des said sarcastically.

"You shouldn't, because it's true. Tell her, Jemma," Chad said.

_Why don't you tell Chad that thinking doesn't hurt people, _Des said.

I looked at the pair, eyeing each other like they wanted to kill the other. Before I could do anything to stop myself, I opened my mouth and blurted out: "You two would make the perfect couple!"

Everyone gasped and turned to look at the three of us. Ever so slowly, Des and Chad narrowed their eyes at me. Suddenly, both of them were all over me. Chad pinned me to the ground so I couldn't move and Des put her hands on either side of my head. Immediately, I felt dizzy, like the whole world was spinning. I saw all my secrets flash before my eyes, but I couldn't do anything to stop them. I was a victim inside my own mind.

"Stop it, Des!" Sarah screamed as she tried to pry her hands from my head. But Des wouldn't budge. I tried to free myself, but I couldn't control my bodily functions.

I looked up at Chad, his eyes seemed to be red, almost like a fire was burning inside them. His mouth opened and he said in a foreign voice, "Ares and Athena do NOT belong together." Then his eyes went back to the same old, normal muddy brown color. Chad released me and stood up, clearly disoriented. Des slowly let go of my head and also stood up, looking confused.

"What just-" Chad started to ask.

"Wow! The gods are really starting to come out of their shells, aren't they?" Alexa exclaimed, her smile blinding.

"I'm really sorry, Jemma," Chad said as he picked me up and swallowed me in a big bear hug. "I swear I didn't do it on purpose."

_I'm sorry, too, Jemma. _Des said softly.

_When you got inside my head, _I thought to Des, _What did you see?_

She didn't say anything.

_That much, huh? _I grumbled.

She nodded her head.

_Please don't tell anyone, please,_ I pleaded.

_Your secret is safe with me, _she replied with a smile.

_Good, _I thought.

_So you really like… _Des started to say.

_Who? _I asked mentally.

_Zac, she said._

_Huh_? I said, baffled.

_You heard me, _Des projected.

_I don't like Zac like that. We're just friends…. Okay… really good friends….but nothing more. _I explained.

_Of course you are, _Des answered as she grinned and walked over to Natalie.

_Des! _I thought loudly.

_Yes, love? _she said mockingly.

_Our conversation was just between us, right? _I said anxiously.

_Of course it was, Des answered with a creepy smile. _She turned back to face Natalie and they began a conversation in their minds.

I glanced over to where Zac had collapsed. He still looked to be out cold. I smiled at his sleeping figure… so peaceful…

"Yes! That's it!" Alexa shouted.

"Thank the heavens," Chiron said, relieved.

"Come on, Jemma. Let's see what we're dealing with!" Sarah said excitedly, pulling me over to the mirror where everyone was gathered (aside from Zac).

"You may begin," Alexa said.

Chiron cleared his throat and began to read: "The gods' presence will become much more pronounced as the time draws nearer."

"What's that mean?" I asked.

"Maybe if I could read more than one sentence that will be made clear…" Chiron said gruffly.

"Sorry!" My cheeks flushed.

"Certain gods will want their freedom more than anything," Chiron started again.

"That's Zeus for ya!" Alexa smirked.

Chiron cleared his throat irritably and read from the book once more. "Their mortal hosts will begin to feel the effects of sharing a body with their godly counterparts. Such side effects include, and not limited to, possession of one's body, black outs, and decrease in strength."

"That doesn't sound very good," Natalie commented.

Sarah snapped her head in Natalie's direction.

"Well, it doesn't." Natalie protested.

Sarah shook her head and whispered loudly, "She is SUCH a blonde!"

"As I was saying," Chiron interrupted. "These side effects will not get better. In fact, they will get far worse. Since the gods have so much power, they will begin to eat away at the mortal carrier's very soul. My guess is, when the prophecy is over, the gods will consume your being."

"You mean… we're going to die?" Donnie said, choking back a sob.

"I don't want to give you false hope…" Chiron muttered.

"That's just great," Natalie said. "I didn't sign up for this, you know! I had a life, a boyfriend, a job. I was going to become a fashion designer. I was going to build my dream house and hold a yearly fashion show to benefit homeless dogs!" She was practically screaming now. "But I won't get any of that now, because… because…" she broke down and started to cry.

"Homeless dogs?" Sarah laughed.

I shot her a quick glance and went over to Natalie.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked gently.

She looked up at me, black lines of her once pretty makeup streaking her face. "Do I look like I'm alight?"

"I was just-"

"Leave me alone!" she screamed.

"Sorry," I mumbled and went back to my group.

_So, was that Aphrodite or Natalie speaking? _Des asked.

"Aphrodite, defiantly," Chad said.

"Always the over-sensitive lug," Donnie snorted.

"Erm… You okay, Chiron?" Sarah asked through the mirror. Chiron had been completely silent.

"Yes, of course," he replied, smoothing his shirt as he looked at each of us very slowly. I felt like his eyes were penetrating our very core. At last, he sighed and said, "Good luck, young heroes," and the mirror went black.

"I think we got our answer, right?" Alexa said with a smirk.

"How can you be so… unaffected?" Sarah asked. "We just found out we're going to die. That means dead… no more Alexa."

Alexa just smiled.

"But why would we die?" Donnie asked fearfully.

"We won't die," I said.

"But Chiron said-" he started.

"I don't care what he said. I won't let us die," I interrupted before he could finish.

_Death isn't something you can prevent. Besides, we all die in the end, _Des said scathingly.

I shook my head at Des. _I was trying to comfort everyone. _

_But why lie? It just hurts everyone in the end, _Des replied coldly.

I didn't reply.

"Nighty, night!" Alexa said as she curled up on the floor.

"What was that about?" I started to ask.

"I'm really *yawn* tired," Sarah mumbled. "Maybe we should all take a n-" She fell down, asleep.

"Come to think of it, I'm tir-" Chad fell down too, asleep.

Donnie lay down beside Sarah and started snoring.

_Is this the part where we start to weaken, like Chiron- _Des started to say before she too, fell asleep.

"You still awake, Natalie?" I asked.

_Nope, _I told myself. Natalie had curled into a ball and was breathing softly.

_Hmm… that's weird. I'm still not tired… _

I looked at everyone's slumbering forms, their faces untroubled. If we really are going to die, despite everything we do, what's the point?

"Mmmmm…" someone murmured.

I turned to find Zac slowly sitting up, rubbing his head.

"Are you…"

"Myself, you mean? And not Zeus?"

I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I'm eighty-five percent Zac!" he exclaimed.

"Not one hundred percent?" I asked.

"Well…I don't quite feel like myself yet. Almost like someone is lurking inside of me, but not doing anything. Like he's giving me a break," Zac mumbled.

"So if I give you a hug, are you going to attack me?" I teased.

With a serious look on his face, he said, "I'll try not to."

"Then maybe I shouldn't…"

"Naw, I'll be careful, I promise," he said, opening his arms.

Hesitantly, I walked over and leaned into his arms. A shock went through my body, shattering my teeth. Zac quickly let go.

"Wow… I'm sorry…" he said, not meeting my eyes.

"Zacia, I renounce you as my friend," I said in a serious tone.

He looked up, his eyes wide. "I- I understand…"

I felt a smile creeping on my face. "Leave my sight at once."

Slowly, he got up and started to walk away. He turned around just as he was about out of sight and saw me cracking up.

"Jemma!" he roared as he smiled and ran back towards me. "That was so NOT cool!"

"You should have seen your face!" I chuckled.

Instead of stopping in front of me, he tackled me, both of us falling to the ground in a heap. I tried to shove him off, just like old times, but he pinned me to the ground.

"Ah, you've gotten stronger, haven't you?" I joked.

"You noticed?" he laughed.

"Or maybe I've just gotten weaker?" I suggested.

"Your poor little noodle arms have no muscle on them," he said, squeezing one of my arms. Zac looked into my sea green eyes, a sweet smile on his face. "But you have gotten prettier." He closed his eyes and leaned forward, his lips puckered.

_It's finally going to happen, _I thought. But of course, I was wrong.

**Did you like the ending? I know, the suspence!**

**Some things I ask of you:**

**1.) Review, people!**

**2.) Add this to your story alert. That way you know when I update!**

**3.) Go to fanmortals. webs. com (remove the spacees) and vote for this story, in two days. That's late Sunday/ Monday. Probably Monday would be best. There will be a link on my profile, if that would be quicker.**

**4.) I made a story banner for this story. There will be a link on my profile as well. Check it out if you want!**

**5.) I got second place with my First Encounters: Hades and Maria oneshot. Thanks to everyone who voted!**

**6.) I guess that's all. If you have any questions, just ask. I'll answer to the best of my abilities.**

**THANK YOU!**


	15. Monkey Business

**Hey everyone! Guess what? I'm going camping for two weeks and won't have internet for the whole time! Doesn't that sound like fun? Well, I actually do have fun, but that's besides the point. So, I won't be replying to your reviews until I get back, but you still need to leave them! That of course means that a new chapter won't be up for a while...**

**Thanks to wonderful beta, Camzy. This chapter is much better now! **

**A wise author informed me that a disclaimer is not needed on each chapter of your story. Just as long as it's on your profile, it'll sufice. So, I'm telling you right now, the disclaimer is on my profile. So for future references, look to my profile! :)**

**Speaking of my profile, go to it if you want a preview of the next generation Percy Jackson books! Just follow the instuctions. I promise it's real!**

**Also, if you're an artist who happens to be skilled in anime, please check out some that I've drawn. There's links on my profile. Give me some advice!**

**At the bottom of the page, I'm going to make a list of all the kids and their "goldly insides" as suggested by a fellow writer on here!**

**Wow... long author's note! Sorry! Please enjoy!**

It began as a tiny cackle, a distant laughter that seemed to echo.

I looked at Zac, who was leaning on top of me. "What is-" I began to ask. "Shh," he hissed, putting a finger over his lips, gesturing for me to stay put. He leapt to his feet and searched the immediate area.

"Show yourself! Face the wrath of Zeus!" he bellowed out of the blue. I jumped in shock.

The cackling became a snigger.

"Okay," he muttered. "You shall also face the wrath of Poseidon!" Zac motioned for me to join him.

This time I heard a snort.

"We have to power to, uh… blast you to smithereens…" I mumbled unconvincingly as I wobbled to my feet beside Zac.

Now I heard more than one voice hooting with laughter.

"If they want trouble, they're gonna get it!" Zac said as he took his headband off.

"No, no, no. Let me handle this," I said firmly as I clutched his arm. A jolt of invigorating electricity shot through me as I slipped Zac's headband back onto his head. I took my special earring off and threw it up into the air. Immediately, the teardrop shaped jewel began to lengthen, transforming into the Trident of Poseidon.

With the weapon in my hand, I felt…immortal, like nothing could hurt me. Like a bird in the sky, nothing could bring me down. I felt _alive._

"Now show yourselves or she, Poseidon, will flood the area on which you are standing," Zac said in a deep commanding voice.

"Since when is Poseidon a girl?" a low pitch, almost squealing voice mocked. More laughter followed.

"Jemma, soak'em," Zac said angrily.

I grinned. This was going to be fun. I willed a torrent of water at the voices, but instead, the trident unleashed an entire whirlpool and I lost control, drenching everyone and everything but me in a one mile radius.

My almost high-like feeling vanished as the weapon flew out of my hand.

Zac spit out a mouth full of water. "That's what I'm talklin' 'bout!"

Two short, almost human-like monkeys walked out from behind a bush. They were soaking wet.

"Can't you control that thing? Jeez…" one of the monkeys said.

"I'm so waterlogged, that I can't think of anything funny to say," the other monkey said. Then he turned on me. "Congratulations, you have successfully made the Cercopes jokeless. I hope you're happy."

"Who _are_ you?" I asked, bewildered at the sight of talking monkeys.

"I'm-" one of the monkeys began to say.

"The Cercopes? I remember reading about you guys. Just give me a moment," Zac interrupted.

"You know, I went to buy some camouflage pants the other day, but I couldn't find any," the smaller of the two monkeys said. His fur was a lighter shade, almost blonde.

"Speaking of pants, how did the farmer mend his pants?" the darker monkey asked.

"With a cabbage patch!" the light colored monkey said as he joined his companion in a fit of laughter.

I stood there bemused but not amused.

"Before your time, before your time... Well, that's all you'll get because we've been locked up for a hundred years," one of the monkey sighed.

"I've got it!" Zac exclaimed. "The Cercopes were two brothers back before Lord Kro… er… I mean Kronos took control of the government. They used to be real men, brothers, but were turned into monkeys by Zeus." He looked confused for a split-second. "The two brothers, Akmon and Passalos, escaped from trouble many times by telling jokes. They were banished to Tartarus with everyone else who fought with the gods," Zac finished.

"So you guys escaped from Tartarus?" I asked.

"Nunya," the dark monkey said.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" I wondered.

"Nunya business," the light colored monkey said.

"Umm… okay. Passalos, what are you doing here?" Zac asked. He leaned over and whispered to me: "Passalos is the more serious of the two. He's the one you want to make a deal with."

I nodded my head slightly.

Passalos, the light colored monkey said, "We sensed great power. I thought the great ones had risen once more."

"But we are the gods, in a sense," I argued.

"Yeah right," the dark monkey, Akmon, snorted. "And I'm the queen of England."

"England has a queen? I thought the Elite Tw- the Titans ruled all the land," I said.

"Again, it's before your time," Akmon said with a frown.

"We are gods, I swear," Zac tried to persuade.

"Prove it," Passalos said.

"Jemma, show them the trident," Zac urged.

I reached for my ear but found no earring. _Right… _I threwthe weapon aside when I was scouring the area. The trident was lying on the ground a few feet away, and I picked it up warily.

The weapon seemed to act as a life bringer. Immediately, I felt power coursing through my veins. I felt strong, alien-like.

"See, it's the Trident of Poseidon," Zac boasted.

"Hmm… let me take a closer look," Passalos said. He held out his hairy little hands and I started to hand the trident to him.

"No! Jemma, don't give him the trident!" Zac yelled.

I yanked my hand back and threw the trident into the air. As it changed into the teardrop, I slipped it back on, and felt like myself again. Passalos muttered under his breath, "Darn it."

"They're also very cunning thieves," Zac explained. "They often distract their victims by telling jokes."

"When Chuck Norris does pushups, he doesn't push himself _up_, he pushes the world _down_," Akmon said.

"Who's Chuck Norris?" I asked.

"My-oh-my! These poor children. Never even heard of Chuck Norris! What has this world come to?" Passalos shook his head dramatically.

"Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door," Akmon said.

"Akmon was an avid Chuck Norris fan back in the day. But really, who wasn't?" Passalos smiled.

"When Chuck Norris gets into the water, he doesn't get wet, the water gets Chuck Norrised," Akmon said.

"Uh… I don't know-" I stammered.

"So, say I believe that you're gods. Then what are you doing here?" Passalos asked.

I opened my mouth to speak but thought better of it. Did we really have any idea what we were doing?

"We're on our way to Crater Lake. I heard the magic border isn't as strong there. We'll have an advantage over the Titans," Zac said.

"Hmm… why would the Titans be at Crater Lake? I mean, how are _you_ going to lure them there? Oh, that's right, you won't," Passalos said mordantly.

"Then what do you suggest?" I asked, agitated.

"Go directly to the Titan's headquarters. Surprise them. They would never expect someone to challenge them," Akmon said.

"Well said, my brother," Passalos said, patting his brother's back.

"But the Titan's base moves everyday. How will we ever work out where they are?" Zac asked.

I smiled. I knew something he didn't, for once.

"What? Do you know?" Zac asked as he caught my smug expression.

"Yes, I do actually," I bragged.

Zac rolled his eyes. "Do you mind sharing?"

"Hold on, I'm enjoying the feeling," I said.

"Anytime would be great," Zac said, annoyed.

"Okay," I said. "You know how once a year, there's this big ceremony that's like a week-long to celebrate Lor- err… Kronos's rise to power. On the last day of the celebration, all the Titans gather together for a day of festivities."

"But there will be thousands of people around. People that think Kronos walks on water. He's their hero. In fact, he was our hero until a few days ago. I don't see how this could work," Zac said.

"It's the only time that the Titan's whereabouts are revealed."

"There's bound to be really tight security," Zac argued.

"Human guards. And we're pretty much gods. Did you forget?" I asked.

"I still don't see how this could-" Zac began.

"Let's ask Passalos and Akmon," I said, turning to the spot where they were just standing. They weren't there anymore. "They must have escaped!" I shouted.

"No, they just turned invisible," Zac said sarcastically.

I glared at him. "I say we go to the festival."

"But we don't know where it is, or when it is!" Zac said.

"It's held at the same place every year," I said.

"Why do you know so much about this?" Zac asked.

"My grandma took me there once, to Los Angeles," I explained. "In fact, it's where I got my earrings." I touched my ear. The jewel was cool against my hand, like water.

"Los Angeles… isn't that where the entrance to the Underworld is?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, I think. But what does that have to do with-" I thought for a bit. _Oh! _"You think my grandma went to Tartarus to get me the earrings? From Poseidon?"

"It sounds possible, even probable, given the circumstances."

"So, can we go to the festival?" I asked hopefully.

"Uh… well…" he looked into my eyes and I saw a flicker of uncertainty. I had him. I smiled as I saw him say the words, but I didn't process them as sound.

"Jemma? What are you smiling at! I said we could go, but when is it?" Zac said louder than usual.

"Hmm… what day is it today?"

"Thursday," Zac said.

"No, not _that _day. The _date_," I said sarcastically, much more at ease when I was telling off Zac for being slow.

"It's August," Zac said but he didn't seem compelled to finish the sentence.

"Go on…" I said, rolling my eyes.

"The fourth," he stammered uncomfortably. "The fourth of August."

"Exactly two weeks," I said simply.

"August eighteenth?" Zac asked. "That's when the festival starts?"

"No, that's the end of the festival, when the Titans arrive to celebrate the birthday of Percy Jackson," I answered.

"Why would the Titans party on the birthday of their arch nemesis?" Zac asked, confused.

"It's also the day he died," I replied quietly.

"That's kind of sad, isn't it? He died on his birthday. It's quite ironic… to die on the day you were born," Zac said to no one in particular.

"Uh-huh…" I said with a yawn. Suddenly I began to feel very tired. I felt my legs give in and before I could count to Omega, I had hit the dirt.

**Thanks for reading and REVIEW!**

**Now for the chart:**

**Jemma: Poseidon... black hair, sea green eyes (16)**

**Zacia (Zac): Zeus... red hair, blue eyes (16)**

**Natalie: Aphrodite... blonde hair (18)**

**Alexa: Apollo... sandy blonde, short hair, amber eyes (16)**

**Donnie: Hermes... sandy blonde hair (10)**

**Sarah: Demeter... chocolate hair and eyes, olive skin (13)**

**Chad: Ares... muddy brown hair, redish brown eyes (15)**

**Desdemona (Des): Athena... short black hair, can't speak aloud (15)**

**That's all for now! Any questions? Just ask!**


	16. A Troubled Past

**Hello my dear friends! Yes, I'm back! No more long vacations for me! But, now I've only got three weeks until school's back in session... :( **

**So, a couple things before I let you read:**

**1.) If you guys want to see a visual of what the main characters in this story look like, head on over to my profile. I made a collage of all the main "prophecy" kids. Keep in mind, though, that not all the characters have been introduced yet! So, if you don't want to see new characters, don't look!**

**2.) I made a new friend on here, and I promised him I would mention his story. His pen name is cpcboy123, and his story is called Vince Knight and the Olympians: Rise of Ancients. This story has some major potential once you get past the cliqued first chapter. But, first chapters are hard to write, so cut him some slack! Check it out, and mention me! ;) It's under my favorite stories.**

**3.) Check out Camzy's stories. They are amazing! Thanks Camzy for beta-ing! :)**

**Okay, well, enjoy!**

"Jemma, wake up!" said a loud voice in my ear. I felt someone shaking me.

My eyes fluttered open and I saw Donnie's mischievous eyes watching me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, shooting up like lightning.

"I just woke up, and everyone else was asleep. I thought, maybe you guys were…" he hiccupped and wiped his eyes.

I pulled Donnie close and engulfed him in a hug. He was two when he arrived on my doorstep, and I loved him like a baby brother.

"We were just taking a nap, like you used to do when you were little," I reminded him.

He looked at me, his big, brown eyes wide. "Oh," he exclaimed, looking relieved. "Are we going to be taking lots of naps? Because I've been really tired lately."

"Probably," I sighed. I took the edge of my tattered grey shirt and wiped his eyes.

"Thanks," he said.

I reached a hand over to his tummy and tickled him gently.

"Hey!" he yelled as he tickled me back. Soon, an all-out tickle war was on, just like the old days.

I rolled Donnie onto one side, and a small object slid out of his pocket. He grabbed it quickly and tried to hide it from view.

"What's that?" I asked, trying to peer over his shoulder.

"My toy car," he said quietly, turning around to show me.

"Wow, I can't believe you still have this," I muttered, turning the small figure in my hands. Along the miniature doors were two entwined snakes. "Is it the same one you had when we first met?"

He nodded his head.

"Hmm…" I felt the shiny surface. On the bottom of the car, I felt something bumpy. I flipped the car over and peered at the tiny writing. At first, I couldn't read it, but then, as if by magic, the letters began to rearrange themselves to form the words: _Property of Hermes_.

"What, Jem?" Donnie asked, leaning over the play car. "Oh, I forgot about that. What do ya think it means?"

"Well…" I mumbled. Donnie was Hermes, or rather Hermes was Donnie, or… "Throw the car up," I suggested.

"I did that once," he said as he took the car from my hand, "and it turned into…" He threw the car into the air. It began to elongate, turning into a long, slender cane with two decorative snakes. "That," he finished. The cane flew into his hand.

"Hermes' Caduceus!" a high pitched voice rang out from behind us.

"Good morning, Alexa," I mused, suppressing a smile.

_Oh, such an annoying voice, _someone, who I had yet to recognize, said. _Well, do you at least have some mice?_

_George, you're not making a very good impression! _A softer, almost reptilian voice snapped.

"You must be George and Martha," Alexa said. "I remember reading about you!"

"Who are you talking to?" I asked.

"M-my snakes," Donnie said shyly. I looked over at him. The two snakes that I had apparently mistaken for decorations were slithering up Donnie's arms.

"Hold still, Don. I'll uh…" I took out my earring and got ready to toss it into the air.

"No!" Donnie cried. "They're my friends. Don't hurt them!"

_Thank you, Master, _the female snake, Martha, cooed.

_Yeah, thanks for saving my skin, _George said.

The two snakes cuddled up on Donnie's neck. He giggled.

_Okay… _I watched the bizarre threesome for a moment, then turned my attention to Alexa, who was standing a few feet away, smiling.

"Why is it that you always seem to wake up, or know when something is about to happen, something weird, or… important?"

"I can-" she began to say, but stopped herself. She looked down at her hands and started twiddling her thumbs.

"What?" I said. "You can tell me."

"I… I can't tell you…" Alexa said in a very serious voice, far from her normal one. "Ri said that if I told anyone, everything and everyone would be… changed…"

"I don't understand," I said.

"I'm sorry Jemma, I really am, but I just can't tell you," she answered with a kind smile. She turned around and started waking everyone up.

Knowing that there was no use in prying, I said to Donnie, "Hey, we've got to go."

"Yeah, okay. Guys, get back on the Caduceus. Now I'm just going to…" Donnie threw the staff, with the two snakes, into the air. It shrank back down into the toy car. He put it gently back into his pocket.

Once everyone had been woken up, Sarah asked, "So what's the plan?"

I met Zac's eyes and nodded very lightly. Zac cleared his throat and announced: "We had some um… visitors last night, while you all were asleep…" Zac continued the story of our meeting with the Cercopes.

_So what's going on with you and Zac? _Des asked.

_Des, quit reading my mind! _I yelled at her mentally. It was hard enough to control my body, I didn't want to have to guard my mind as well.

She cracked a wicked smile.

"We're going to LA? I'm thinkin' Cali boys!" Natalie said with a dreamy look.

"Well, that's settled," I said, getting up from the floor.

"Just one question," Chad said. "How do we get there?"

"That, Chad, is an excellent ques-" I began to say, then looked over at Zac. "What's that on your head?" I yelped in alarm.

"What? Aaargh!" he shouted as he swiped his arms over his head.

A majestic creature with a white head and brown wings fluttered up into the air to avoid Zac's panicked arms. It circled around above us and flew with unparalleled grace.

"Why aren't you guys freaking out? There's a talking uh… what did you call yourself?" Zac paused as he looked at the bird-like creature. "Eagle, a talking eagle!" he said gesturing wildly as if he had seen a ghost.

_It's just an eagle, bright one, _Des said, rolling her eyes.

"No! It can talk! It said it was my humble servant, he said his name was Thor and… and… oh…" Zac stopped with a blank look on his face as Thor landed on his shoulder.

"What?" we all asked in confusion.

"Thor said that only I could hear him," Zac finished.

"You're kidding, right?" Sarah asked.

"No," he said firmly. "I can hear Thor inside my head."

"He says I can't repeat what he tells me, that each of you will have your own animal to help you."

"Okay, but-" Natalie began to say.

"He says he was Zeus' immortal companion before Kronos took over. Now he's telling me to uh… stop talking…" Zac said distantly.

"Is he serious, Jem?" Donnie asked.

"I think so," I said. "George and Martha are like Thor, I think."

"Oh, cool," Donnie said.

"If you can understand me, Thor, flap your right wing," Sarah commanded.

The bird flapped its right wing.

_It's just a coincidence, _Des insisted.

"Shake your left foot," Sarah said.

Thor obeyed.

_Okay, maybe- _Des started to say.

"Blink your left eye, then wave to me with your right wing!" Sarah interrupted loudly.

Thor blinked, stuck out a right wing and twirled it. The bird looked thoroughly irritated, and I grabbed Sarah's wrist before she could order another humiliating dance routine.

"He's following what Sarah says because Zac's telling him to," Alexa spoke up.

"How do you know?" Chad asked.

She gave us all a don't-you-guys-know-anything stare. "Romi, come to Mama." A speedy, little black bird emerged from a nearby tree and landed on her shoulder.

"Another talking bird? I don't believe it!" Chad exclaimed.

Alexa shrugged her shoulders. "Romi is a black crow. Crows are one of the most intelligent, fierce, and beautiful birds of the ancient world. They can tear almost any other animal limb from limb, and they've even been known to imitate the human voice. So Chad," Alexa said harshly, "What can Romi do to prove himself?"

The small blackbird said, _Prooove, proove!_

Chad said, "Uh… bring me a…"

_Mountain Laurel, _Des interrupted._ They were indigenous to the area before_, _and used to be pink, but since everything turned grey when the time stopped, they're grey. It was Pennsylvania's state flower._

"Huh?" Chad asked dumbly.

Des blushed. _I… I don't know how I know that. I guess I have Athena to thank for that._

Chad punched Des in the arm. "Coolio," Chad said with a wink.

"Guys, sorry to break up this little love fest, but Romi has your flower," Alexa said. "Go take it to them, please."

The black crow flew over our heads and dropped the flower in front of the two, then flew back to Alexa.

"My goodness, that bird's quick!" Natalie exclaimed. "Ugly, though."

"Now do you believe me?" Zac asked. He and Thor were sitting slightly away from the rest of us.

We all nodded our heads.

Alexa said, "Romi, you can go now. I'd keep an eye out for their animals. Remind them that now is the time." She winked and the bird nodded his head and seemed to smile. He flew off.

"Now that that's settled, how are we getting to LA?" I asked.

"Thor says there's a highway less than a mile from here," Zac said.

_Great, let's take directions from a bird, _Des said. _Awesome._

She stomped off.

"Uh… Des, Thor says it's the other way," Zac said nervously.

She sighed, turned around, and walked past us, her head high. Chad followed her close behind.

"What's going on between those two?" Sarah asked.

"Let's just say the love bug bit them," Natalie said.

"You did that?" I asked. "You made them like each other?"

"Oh no, I can't do that. I simply, umm… encouraged the little thought in the back of both of their minds," Natalie explained.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

Natalie smiled. "I'm just making the world a better place," she said silkily, her voice seemed more melodic and playful, as her hand drifted to her belt.

_What's up with that belt, _I wondered. _Hmm… Aphrodite's symbol of power, her weapon… what was it?_

"Jemma, are you coming? You look like a little girl in a candy shop," Sarah said.

_Girl in… _"GIRDLE! That's it!" I said loudly.

I looked around, but everyone else was far ahead of me. "Natalie's belt is her magic girdle! It has the power to make anyone fall in love with the wearer, or something like that anyways," I stammered in Sarah's ear as I caught up to the main group.

"No way! So she used the belt on Chad and Des?" Sarah's eyes got wide.

"Well, I don't know for certain," I said.

"Come on, let's go ask her!" Sarah ran ahead to catch up with Natalie. I took off after her.

Natalie walked happily down the road, unaware of the two of us approaching.

I saw Sarah surge ahead of me._ Running is not my strong point,_ I thought bitterly.

Sarah grabbed Natalie by the arm forcefully and said, "You used your girdle on Chad and Des!"

Natalie spun around to face Sarah.

"Shhhh!" she said. "And no, I don't have the power to make others fall in love."

"Oh, really?" Sarah said. "So they're like that on their own?"

"Yeah," Natalie giggled. "They're sweet, aren't they?"

Sarah snorted. "Yeh, sure…"

"But why did you rub your belt? It is the girdle, right?" I said, catching up to the other two girls.

"Yeah," she said, looking down at it. "When I twist the buckle, it turns into the girdle and its power is activated."

"What power?" Sarah asked innocently.

"It makes people infatuated with the wearer-"

"What does infatuated mean?" Sarah asked eagerly.

"It means to have an intense romantic desire for someone, like so bad that they can't focus on anything else," Natalie explained.

"How did you find out about it in the first place?" I asked.

"Well…" Natalie said nervously.

"What happened?" Sarah asked as she put a hand on Natalie's arm.

Natalie took a deep breath, her eyebrows creased into a frown and her head dropped a fraction.

"You can tell us," Sarah said gently. "If you don't want to that's okay too."

"I want to tell someone, it's been a long time and… and…" Natalie said quickly.

"Okay," Natalie started again, this time with more confidence. "Back when I was little, my parents used to fight, like, really bad. They were always shouting and even used to throw things. I learned to take care of myself, because even if my parents were home, they never did anything for me…" Natalie suppressed a choke and tried to hide it as a hiccup.

I put my arm around her. "It's alright, it's alright…" I reassured her.

"If you don't want to tell any more, you don't have to," Sarah repeated.

"No, I want to. I _need _to," Natalie said firmly. She composed herself and started again. "My dad was a violent person, and would often go into a raging fit. It was like he was possessed or something, a monster, like the Minotaur. Anyways, when I was thirteen, my mom and dad had a particularly bad fight," Natalie said coolly. But, her pained expression betrayed her, and as I looked into her contorted face, I could almost feel the fear and sadness within her.

"There was… there was… a baseball bat and blood... My mother, she had a gun… and then…" Natalie covered her face. Sarah and I reached over to put an arm over Natalie's shoulders. "No, no…" Natalie said, as she bravely pushed us away and smeared her pretty makeup. "That's not the end. I was sentenced to two lifetimes in Tartarus for killing my parents. As I was being driven out of the country to prison, I realized something strange happened when I unclasped the buckle on this belt," she said, holding the belt up.

Both Sarah and I looked closely at it, but it looked like a plain black leather belt.

"When I unclasped it, all the guards would act weird around me and did whatever I asked. I asked them to drop me off on the way to the prison. I think it was in Texas that they dropped me off. I met this guy at a bar one night. The man was ugly, but rich. The magic girdle worked wonders on him, and he paid for my stay at hotels and even bought me an apartment."

"So uh… what were you doing at that old hotel where we met you? And how did you end up in Philadelphia?" Sarah asked.

"That's the thing," Natalie said mournfully. "After a few months, the spell wears off, and since the guards were still after me, I was forced to hide. I moved around the country, hotel to hotel, and that's when you guys showed up. I know I might not always show it, but I'm really, really glad I met you guys. I still remember one of the last things my mother said to me. She said that I was unique, special, and that I was more important than I could ever know. She even said that I would save the world,

"I didn't believe it before, but now, I know at least that some part of what she said was true, and why can't all of it be? We _are_ going to save the world aren't we?" Natalie said strongly.

At that moment, I looked at Natalie and I saw through her luscious long hair, her makeup smeared face, and saw a girl who was kicked to the turf but clung on and fought. I thought my life was hard before, but now, I felt almost guilty for having a much easier upbringing than Natalie. She deserved better, the whole world deserves better.

"Yeah, we are," I said with a gentle nod. "We are…"

**Well, what did you think? Has your prospective on Natalie changed? Review please! Oh, and remember, check out cpcboy123's story! And my profile! AND REVIEW!**


	17. We Meet Death

**Hello everyone. I have several bits of unfortunate news. First of all: My extremely amazing beta, Camzy, is going to college. That means he must focus on his school work, so I'm on my own for my story. **

**Camzy, thank you so much! This chapter is dedicated to you! :)**

**And, on my third day back to school, I hyperextened (bent the wrong way) my knee, then fell on my knee cap. As of right now, I cannot walk at all. I have already been to the ER, and thankfully nothing is broke. Monday, I go back to the doctor for a MIR to see if I need surgery. I'm really, really worried... :(**

**Hmm... Well, this chapter is definatly my longest. Please enjoy! :)**

"Are we there yet?" Alexa asked.

"No," Zac said glumly. "My answer has not changed since you asked me a minute ago."

"Well," Alexa began, "how much farther is it?"

Zac took a deep breath to calm himself. "I don't know how much farther," he managed to say through clenched teeth.

"Someone's grumpy," Alexa muttered as she power-skipped ahead of us.

"Seriously, Zac, are we almost there?" I asked.

"Jemma, as I just told Alexa, I have no-" Zac started to say.

"Is this the highway Thor meant?" Alexa shouted from about fifty feet ahead of us.

"Come on Jem, we're here," Zac said brightly, emerging from his gloom. As he grabbed my hand, an involuntary shock passed through my body. As Zac pulled me behind him as he raced towards the road, I reveled in the electricity in our touch and felt a sudden surge of excitement.

Swatting past a dense thicket of trees, our entire party burst out into the open… and let out a collective groan. The road was incredibly decrepit and it looked like no one had set foot on it in years. Mangled, gnarly roots grew from the ground, and the uneven, jagged floor looked downright menacing. It would be Hades getting through this.

_Great... Look where following a bird got us_, Des said sarcastically.

"Well, he was right about a road being here," Chad said softly to Des. She rolled her eyes.

"Now what?" Donnie asked. "Where are we going?"

"California is in that direction," Zac said, pointing to his left.

"You mean we have to walk?" Natalie exclaimed. "I can't walk in these!"

I looked at her pink pumps, then down at my own ratty sneakers. I had found them in one of the old dumps in town and what they lacked in style they more than made up for in durability.

"Why would you wear those… heels?" Sarah grimaced.

"I didn't exactly have time to change them, now, did I?" Natalie said snootily.

"No, I mean, why would you wear them in the first place?"

"Pink just seemed well... natural," she explained.

"Ugh, I think I'll stick to my sandals, thank you very much," Sarah said.

"So we're really going to walk the whole way to Los Angeles?" Donnie asked, worried.

"I don't see any other source of transportation," Zac said as he took off down the old, faded blacktop.

"Come on guys, he's right," I said as I started off down the lane.

Several hours passed of walking down the lonely stretch in the hot August sun, when I finally burst. "This is not working! Do we have any idea where we even are?" I cried. My voice sounded hoarse and even whinier from a lack of water. None of us had had anything to drink all day.

"Well, what do you want, Princess Jemma?" Zac was practically yelling at me. "Would you like a horse to come galloping down the road to offer you a ride? Huh?" He was breathing hard and sweat was trickling down his face.

"No, I just meant-" I started to say, when I heard the distinct clippity-cloppity of a hoofed animal. Just over the horizon, a dark figure was galloping towards us.

_Are you serious?_ Des said.

"Maybe we're all hallucinating?" Zac suggested, bewildered.

The tall, jet black equidae, _it means horse-like creature, don't ask me how I know, I just know, _came to a standstill beside me.

_I am your humble servant. You may call me Anaya_, a voice said in my head that seemingly came from the horse.

I arched my eyebrows. "Talking horse... Am I crazy?" I said out loud.

_I'd say crazy, definitely_, Des said.

_I was Poseidon's royal animal back when he was strong_, the horse said. _I am not a horse. I am a pegasus,_ the beast said, unfurling two enormous wings from its back.

I looked at everyone. They were gawking at the beast as if they had never seen something so weird before. "Uh, guys, this is Anaya. She's a pegasus. I guess she's like Thor and Romi."

"Uh, this is weird," Chad said. He turned and started walking down the road, Des followed behind him like she was chained to him with invisible bonds.

"I guess you got what you wanted, didn't you?" Zac said bitterly. He and the others walked off.

"Zac, wait up!" I shouted.

_He's just jealous_, Anaya said. _All he got was a bird and you can't ride a bird._

"Uh, huh," I mumbled, running after Zac.

I ran a few paces and saw Anaya strolling effortlessly beside me.

_Climb on_, Anaya commanded, stepping in front of me. _I have much to tell you._

"Let me guess, I can't tell anyone what you're about to say, right?" I said wearily.

She nodded her head. _Unfortunately, that is correct. The others will learn in time. Now please, let me help you._

I looked at her with uncertainty and glanced quickly at the rest of the party trudging up the road.

"Okay," I said, "but not too long."

_Grab on to my mane and swing a leg over me. It will come naturally once you try_, she assured me.

I did as she told me, and sure enough, I was on top of her before I knew it.

Hold on tight, she neighed happily as she let her powerful legs drive us forward. A few flaps of her wings later, and we had caught the wind and we were whisked up into the sky.

"This is amazing!" I said between short gasps of breath. The wind was blowing my hair, and it felt refreshing, wonderful. We weren't very high up, only about six feet, but we were way ahead of the others.

_I would go higher, but then we would lose the cover of the trees_, Anaya said.

"But why does that matter?" I asked.

_The Titans_, she whinnied, _have bases all around here. They have winged creatures patrolling the skies, so no one but the Titans themselves can fly…_

"Oh…" I shuddered to think of what sort of creatures could be watching us this very minute.

_How I yearn to stretch my wings again_… Anaya sighed sadly. _Now then, we have much to discuss._

"Great, well, let's hear it," I said impatiently.

_Of course_, she said. _First I shall tell you of the unification of Poseidon and myself all those many years ago. Back before horse even existed…_ Anaya suddenly ceased to communicate and stiffened, landing abruptly back on the ground.

"What's wrong? What's happening?" I asked.

_Something's coming_, she said. Anaya turned around and galloped back to my group.

"What do you mean?" I asked worriedly.

_I smell… bad things… death_, she grimaced.

"Death? What are you talking about?"

_I have to go. We'll have to finish this conversation some other time_, Anaya said. She stopped several feet from my friends and was shuffling nervously as if she wanted to be as far away from here as possible. _Be careful Jemma, please be careful._

"Tell me what's going on," I demanded.

_Jemma, get off my back. I have to go, now. The presence is almost too much to bear_, the pegasus neighed.

"Fine, but-"

_Now, please._

I slid off the agitated pegasus's back and she took off into the woods like her tail was on fire.

"Jemma, hello? I said, did you enjoy your flight?" Zac asked harshly. When I didn't reply, he continued, but in a much more concerned tone, "What's wrong?"

"Something bad is coming," I whispered.

"Like what?" he asked timidly.

"I dunno, but it scared off Anaya," I said.

"Hmm… I suppose it's best to keep going," he reasoned. "Just be careful."

_Careful_, I said in my own mind, but just thinking about the word made me feel reckless and more curious than ever.

We all started walking, suddenly very nervous at what could lurk around us. It was as if we all expected Titans to burst from the ground any minute.

After a few minutes, Natalie squealed, "This is so nerve wracking! Are you sure you heard the horse right?" I noticed her hand was on the buckle of her belt.

"Pegasus, and yes, I know what I heard," I retorted.

"What kind of bad thing was she talking about?" Donnie asked. He was squeezing his toy car so hard his knuckles were white.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing can hurt us, Donnie. We're together."

He smiled. "I guess so, but I'm still afraid."

I leaned in and whispered, "So is Chad. He's just won't admit it."

"Guys, be quiet. Listen," Sarah said.

I listened closely, but only heard the sound of heavy breathing. Suddenly, a low growl pierced the silence.

"W-what is it?" Chad asked, trying not to sound afraid.

_It sounds like an engine, and it's getting closer_, Des replied quickly.

"Quickly! Into the trees," I snapped.

The others nodded their heads and ran into the cover of the trees behind me.

A few seconds later, a big, black bus sped by.

"Should we flag it down?" Natalie said.

Before I could do anything, Zac ran out of the woods and waved his hands wildly after the bus.

"Zac!" I yelled as I ran out after him, but he was too far ahead. It looked almost like he was skating on air. He was hovering half a foot in the air, and the air seemed to be pushing him as he ran, giving him an incredible burst of speed.

"Whoa! How'd he do that?" Donnie asked, running beside me, despite his short legs.

"Zac! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I shouted as loudly as I could. He was getting closer to the bus.

Suddenly, one of the wheels on the bus seemed to explode, sending the vehicle swerving all over the road. The bus rocked backwards and forwards dangerously before rolling into a ditch. Zac stopped for a moment then turned and air skated back to us.

"Hurry, get behind the trees and see…" he said, catching his breath.

We rushed back to the cover of the trees, the bus visible from where we were.

"What did you just do?" I asked.

"I willed the air inside the tire to explode" Zac said matter-of-factly.

"Look, someone's getting out," Alexa said, pointing to the bus.

Sure enough, a short pudgy guy stumbled out of the bus and fell to the ground.

"What are you doing? Get up! I told you to go see what happened!" someone said from inside the bus. A tall, pale figure dressed entirely in black stepped out of the bus.

"Get up!" the man said. He kicked the guy on the ground. "You're useless," he muttered. He snapped his fingers and the short man seemed to melt into the ground. "I have to do everything around here myself."

"What did he jus-" Sarah asked loudly.

Five pairs of hands rushed towards Sarah's mouth, but it was already too late.

The tall man turned his head in our direction. "Who's there?"

We crouched in the bushes as quietly as we could, eyebrows creased as we tried to limit the sound of our breathing.

"I know you're there. If you don't come out, you'll be sorry," he said menacingly, walking closer towards our position.

I stirred a little bit and started to stand up, but Zac held me back.

"Jemma, don't," Zac snapped.

"You guys will be fine here," I whispered. "I need to know what we're up against."

"I'll go with you," Zac said. "If we need you guys, we'll say-"

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Alexa yelled. We all groaned.

"Show yourselves," the man commanded.

"Okay Jem, let's go," Zac said tensely. He grasped my hand firmly and we both stumbled out of the trees, ready for a fight if the situation demanded one.

"Why hello there," the tall man called out with unexpected friendliness. He had long, black hair that fell over his eyes, and multiple piercings. He wore a faded black t-shirt that said 'Guns N' Roses' on it, tight skinny jeans, and a pair of old sneakers exactly like mine. He had an air of 'cool' about him, and his eyes shone with a sparkle of adventure as we approached him. As we got closer, I realized he wasn't really a man at all. He had boyish features and was probably around my age.

"Hello," I said with a cautious smile.

"Jemma, let me do the talking," Zac said.

"Now what's a pretty little lass like you doing here?" the boy said, breaking out into a beaming smile. I blushed.

"Who are you?" Zac spat.

He winked at both of us. "I guess I could ask you the same question," he continued, his friendly smile never once dropping.

"We're just passing through," Zac said uncertainly. He positioned himself so that he was partially in front of me.

"Well don't you know it," the boy in black said. "So am I!"

"On this road?" Zac pointed out skeptically.

"You're not looking too good yourself," the boy in black said, but there was no malice in his words.

I looked at Zac. His grey pants had big stains all over them, and several slashes in the fabric. His shirt was in a similar state, and his normally vibrant orange hair had turned an ugly brown color, littered with twigs. I had to suppress a sudden urge to laugh.

"What are your names?" the boy in black asked.

"Jemma, I'm Jemma. And this is Zac," I said.

"Well Jemma and Zac, come inside, have something to drink, sit a spell," he said smoothly. He seemed to have an Irish accent, and I quite liked it.

"Something cold would be wonderful," I said, dreaming of an icy soda. "Okay."

"Jemma," Zac said, grabbing my arm. "What are you doing?"

"Surely you wouldn't deprive a lady of a cold drink on a day like this," the boy said eloquently. "You'd be very welcome to join us, and call your friends over too. We have enough for everyone."

"What's your name?" Zac asked, his suspicion evident.

The mysterious boy smiled again. "James, James Manson, or you could call me Hades, god of the Underworld, if your other halves are willing."

"What?" Zac and I said in unison.

"Yes, I would know my, err… brothers anywhere," James said.

"I don't believe you," Zac said, crossing his arms. "Prove it."

"Oh, you don't want me to do that right now," James said, a mischievous grin playing on his face.

"Prove it," Zac said again, in a harsh tone. I could feel tiny sparks of electricity bouncing around him.

"Zac, calm down," I said softly.

"Jemma, I want him to prove it, okay?" Zac said stubbornly.

"He doesn't need to prove it. You can't deny the feeling," I said sharply.

"Jemma, if Zac wants me to prove it, then I will. Now the question is, what can I do to prove it?" James said.

"Fight me," Zac said, steeping forward, his hand on his headband.

James stood firm, smiling at us. "No Zac, now is neither the time, nor the place."

"I said, fight me." Zac took his head band off and started to throw it in the air.

"Zac, no!" I shouted, trying to grab the band from his hand. His eyes met mine… he saw the fear in my eyes, and slackened his grip. I took the head band and slowly placed it back on his head.

"I've got an idea," James said, lightening the atmosphere of the situation immediately. "Here, take my hands." He stepped forward, holding his hands in front of him. "I have an idea."

"What are you going to do?" I asked hesitantly, eyeing his black painted fingernails.

"I'm going to share a bit of my curse with you," James said simply. "Zac first, please."

"I am not touching his hand," Zac said haughtily.

"I want you to promise you won't hurt us," I said softly.

"I won't hurt you a bit, I promise," James said, smiling. "In fact, I think it will make some things much clearer."

"Do you believe this guy?" Zac whispered to me, rolling his eyes.

I turned to face Zac. "Yeah, I do believe him. He has been nothing but nice to us, and yet you're still being a complete jerk. You're always telling me to give people a chance. Well Zac, here's a chance to practice what you preach."

"Jemma, I swear, if he hurts you-" Zac began.

"Just do it," I said shortly.

Zac gave me one last piercing look, then touched James' hand. Suddenly, James' eyes began to glow, and he began to smile, but differently than before. This one was dark, eager.

Zac's eyes widened, and he tried to pull away. "What are you doing?"

"Jemma, take my hand now," James said. "Quickly!"

I looked at Zac again. Now he showed no sign of struggle, almost like he wasn't even here anymore.

"Uh…" I hesitated.

"Now! Hurry, before I lose communication with this side," James said.

I quickly glanced behind me, to the hiding place of my friends. I motioned for them to stay put, reached forward and grabbed James' hand.

Suddenly, I was whisked into a different place… maybe even a different time. Everything was dark and I couldn't see a thing. "Zac? James?" I called out instinctively.

"I'm here, Jem," Zac said.

"I'm here, too," James said, squeezing my hand.

"Where are we?" I asked, trying not to sound afraid.

"I don't really know yet," James said calmly.

"And why did Zac have to grab on first?" I inquired.

"You'll find out," James said.

I tried to look into the darkness, to see if there were any irregularities but there was nothing, absolutely nothing but crushing darkness.

"What are we supposed to be looking at?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," James said.

"Then why are we here?" I complained.

"Jemma, give it a chance," Zac said.

I was taken aback. "What? What happened to you?"

"Just wait. This place seems… I don't know… familiar, I guess," Zac said.

"Sorta like déjà vu?" James asked.

"Yeah," he replied quietly.

"Oh, I see something," I murmured. In the distance I could see a light that resembled a pair of eyes.

"Guys, something's coming. Wake up," a high pitched voice said. I heard crunching leaves nearby, a sound I assumed was the noise of lots of people standing up at the same time.

"What? Where is it?" a deep, strong voice asked.

"Where?" a familiar voice asked.

"Sshhhh…" the high voice said.

I heard more crunching leaves and heavy breathing.

"W-what?" a small, frightened voice whispered.

"That sounds like-" I started to say.

"Please, just watch," James whispered quietly.

I looked around to see if I could see the eyes again, but I couldn't. However, I did see a small patch of glowing objects, but it was too far away to tell what they were.

"What are those glowing things?" I asked.

"You don't recognize them?" James asked, puzzled.

"Umm… should I?" I wondered.

"Jemma, they're our weapons," Zac whispered.

I squinted to see the glowing mysteries. Each one seemed to emit its own light, each its own color. The one that stood out to me was blue, and oblong, like a pitchfork. Next to it was something glowing yellow. Zac and I were standing in the front of the group.

"But if we're here and there… how is that even pos-" I started to say, when a low growling broke out behind us.

I swiftly turned around and my whole vision was filled with two huge beastly, yellow eyes. They looked at me menacingly, boring down into my soul and evaluating every move I made, perhaps every thought. I couldn't make out any more of its shape except its eyes, the rest of its body seemed to be engulfed in shadows.

I opened my mouth to scream, but a hand clamped down on my wrist.

"Jemma, it can't hurt you," James said reassuringly.

"What do you mean it can't hurt me?" I whispered back, my eyes never wavering from the eyes of the beast.

"Just trust me," he said.

Suddenly, the beast released a stream of fire which flew straight through us, setting nearly all the trees around us on fire. I heard someone scream.

The beast ran forward, straight through us, the fire's light revealing its true form. It seemed to be made of shadows, a smoky black beast at least one hundred feet long. It ran on four legs, and had feet the size of small cars and smoky claws that looked genuinely dangerous. Each step it took shook the earth beneath our feet. It was terrifying… deadly…

"Come on, we need to get closer," James said, pulling Zac and I forward.

"No," I said firmly, trying to pull my hand away. "We're not supposed to see this." Somewhere, deep down, I knew this was not meant to happen.

In the firelight, I could see James's face, alert and excited. I could also see Zac's face, pale and frightened.

"Come on," James said again, pulling both of us forward with surprising strength. I allowed myself to be dragged along through the flickering trees. Surprisingly, I wasn't affected by the fire in any way. It was almost like we were ghosts…

In the firelight, it was difficult to see much of anything clearly. I caught glimpses of the beast, merely smoky remains. I could hear the sound of something whizzing through the air, but mostly, it was eerily quiet.

"What is that thing?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure," James said, immersed in the scene.

James pulled us close enough so that I could just make out a few faces.

"Zac, that… That's us!" I said, pointing to an area just to the right of us near some tall trees. I saw our whole party trying to fight off the beast, but we weren't doing well. Zac and I had our weapons out, and were zapping the beast time after time with them, but it seemed to have no effect on it.

"We're powerless against it," the Zac beside me whispered, his voice quivering.

"Our weapons are passing straight through it," a gruff voice shouted. "Alexa, how do we defeat it?"

From above us, a high voice said, "A sacrifice. Someone must be willing to die."

I looked up. Alexa was straddling a tree, firing arrow after arrow of blinding light. Each one passed through the monster.

"But we can't die," a small voice shouted.

"In that one spot, you can," another familiar voice said.

The smoke monster blew more fire out its massive maw. I saw myself trying to douse some of the flames while sending a jet of water at the beast. The other Zac's hair was standing on end as sparks shot out all around him.

I could see Chad in the distance, a spear in his hand, glowing in the fire. He was fighting like the warrior he was born to be.

"Why did you bring us here? What's going on?" I asked James again.

He was squinting in concentration. "Hmm… I wonder how this is going to end… Not well, I presume…" he muttered.

I realized that the Zac beside me hadn't said much this entire time. "Zac, are you okay?" I looked over at him again. His face was completely drained of color, and he was noticeably shivering.

He slowly turned his head to me, his eyes wide in fear. "I-I…"

"Here it comes. I can feel it," James said as his hand began to shake.

"What? What's coming?" I repeated, seemingly forever trapped into saying the same thing.

Suddenly, the monster turned around with unbelievable speed. Its beady eyes narrowed and blew fire again, straight at where the other Zac and I were standing. I saw myself try to shield Zac from the flames but to no avail.

We both fell to the ground, Zac's clothes are on fire, but I'm fine. I saw myself put out the flames, and then Zac, despite his severe burns, pushed me out of the way.

All the while, I didn't notice the monster creeping up on our second selves. Before I knew it, the shadow beast swiped at the area I had just occupied with a dark claw, but instead of hitting me, it hit the other Zac square on the chest.

I stood there motionless as I saw my other self rush to where Zac's bleeding, broken body lay.

As my other self held Zac, a small orb of light seemed to separate itself from his body. The light flew into the smoke monster, and burst triggering a devastating explosion. Light poured out from every direction as the monster disappeared into the void.

All of a sudden, the light disappeared as if someone had switched off the lights in a room, and my world was thrown back into darkness. But that wasn't what scared me the most. I heard something I didn't think was possible, the sound of my own desperate scream.

**And that's all! **

**I I'm sure some of you already know about this, but I'm going to tell you anyways. I've started a story called Percy Jackson, Your Way, where anyone can write the next chapter. So, you control what happens. Check it out! :)**

**Thanks for reading... REVIEW! **


	18. I Meet My Parents

**Yeah, I know. Finally a new chapter is up! :) **

**Also, I found out more about what's going on with my knee. I have severely bruised both of the bones in my leg, and have a stretched and tore ligament in the back. Right now, I'm confined to a wheelchair. :(**

**Oh, and as of right now, I have a new beta! Thanks Kanae Valentine for beta-ing! ^_^ Yeah, I stole your smiley! ;P**

**Please enjoy! :D**

I was screaming, a long, drawn out scream. The kind of scream that went on for so long, that you forgot why you even started. The kind of scream that made your throat hurt for days after you've done it. Abruptly, I stopped. It was as if someone shut off the scream; like they turned off the switch. I didn't try to move… I sat very still, recounting the previous events.

_The light seemed to fly out of Zac. Fly out of the poor, mangled body, and into the foul beast. It was like the light expanded inside the beast, pushing out. _

_What happened? _I asked myself. _Did Zac… die? _It hurt to even think about it. Not physically, but something entirely different. Something foreign. I wasn't used to this kind of pain.

Slowly, I took one hand that was clenching my leg, and reached down, trying to feel what I was sitting on. Soft. But not too soft. An inviting, welcoming soft, full of love and acceptance. A soft I had not felt in a very long time.

Hesitantly, I cracked one eye open, fearing what may be waiting for me. I was met with a blindly light, so I shut my eye quickly.

After a deep breath, I opened both eyes this time, but slowly, so I my wayfaring eyes would grow accustomed to the light.

My first thought was that I had somehow slipped back in time. The presence of this room was almost too much to bear. It was like yesterday…

I quickly snapped back, the memory replaying in my mind. It was so long ago, yet I remembered it as if it had just happened.

I sighed and looked at the seat I was occupying. The blue wave design made me smile. So many laughs… I looked around. A large, antique, grandfather clock sat in the corner of the small room. The walls were a faded white, the floors a dark blue tile. There was a large bookcase, books crowded inside.

But what caught my eye, was a table with a faded picture on it. Looking closer, I saw a dark headed man and woman, smiling proudly, a baby in their arms. The baby had startling sea green eyes and dark, dark hair.

"Your parents disappeared soon after that was taken," a deep, kind voice said.

I turned around. "Granny?" I asked. A short, plump woman in her eighties stood in front of me. Her white hair was in a bun, and her fingernails were painted blue, like I used to do to her. The only thing that was off was her eyes. They were sea green just like mine, instead of the usual brown. Well, and the voice. I remembered Granny's voice to be higher and softer; motherly and nurturing.

"No, it's the only way we can communicate," she smiled sadly.

"But," I said. "Then who are you?"

"I think you know that answer," she said.

"Poseidon," I said softly.

"Yes, I am Poseidon. I can only appear to you inside your mind, in an environment you feel comfortable in," he explained. "I can, however, project my own memories to you."

"That's right," I said. "This was your- I mean my granny's old house."

"Correct," Poseidon said, nodding his head. "It was where you felt most at home, even though you were only here for a little more than three years."

"The best years of my life..." I said.

Poseidon just smiled, saying nothing.

"What- what happened to my parents?" I asked.

"The Titans," he spat.

"What do you mean? Did they do something to my parents?"

"It's a long story. I would have thought that Anaya would have explained the basics, but I suppose I'll just tell it all. Well, here goes," Poseidon said. He snapped his fingers and the world seemed to blur together.

Suddenly, we were standing in a white hallway. Floating a few feet from us, in front of a door, was the shimmering, almost shadow like form of a man with black hair.

"Is that you?" I whispered to Poseidon.

"Yes, it was," he said. "And you don't have to whisper. This is a flashback, a memory. One that I conjured."

"Where are we?" I asked. "And what are you doing?"

I walked closer to the ghostly man, and saw what he was looking at. Inside the door was an all white room with a bed and a few chairs. A woman with long black hair was burrowed under the covers, and a man with the same colored hair was standing over her, a baby in his arms. A man in a long white coat was standing beside him, a sad look on his face.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Poseidon shushed me.

"I'm very sorry, but the baby-" the man in white started to say.

"What's wrong with… Jemma?" the small, bedridden woman said. Just saying that seemed to drain all of her energy.

"Jemma? That's me?" I asked.

Poseidon briefly nodded his head and put his finger to his lips.

"Her heart, Jemma's heart," he corrected himself, "isn't developed. It can't sustain her for much longer. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for her. She was born too soon."

My mother chocked back a sob.

"Nothing? You can't do anything?" my father said. He was holding the baby, me, tightly.

"But the picture-" I said.

"Patience," Poseidon said.

I kept my mouth shut.

"How much longer do we have with her?" my father asked, his voice breaking.

"Not much," the man said grimly. "Maybe ten minutes, if you're lucky." He walked out of the room, passing through the ghostly Poseidon. He frowned as he did that, then continued, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Let me see my Jemma," my mom said.

My dad handed me to her, but kept a hold of my hand. "She has your eyes," he said. "So dark. Dark brown."

"My eyes are blueish green," I said, confused.

"Jemma, be quiet," Poseidon demanded.

"Honey, what are we going to d-do?" my mom stuttered.

"We'll be strong," my dad said. "We'll get through this. Doctors don't know everything. Jemma is strong. She'll make it."

My mom smiled sadly. "I don't think so…"

The ghost Poseidon floated into the room.

"Who are you?" my father asked wearily, putting an arm over me and my mom.

"Poseidon," the ghost said.

"But you're-"

He floated over and hovered at the end of the bed. Slowly, he began to speak in a low voice.

"I can't hear what he's- your saying," I said, trying to go into the room.

Poseidon grabbed my arm, his grip like steel, despite his frail appearance.

"You mustn't hear what I said. It is forbidden."

"But what's going on?" I asked.

"You are as restless as the sea. Just wait," Poseidon laughed sadly.

My mom looked up at my dad. An understanding passed between them. One that I understood. They could save their child, but at a hefty price.

"A life for a life, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yes," Poseidon nodded grimly.

"They both died? But what about the picture of the three of us?"

"The Titans found out, and there was a price to pay. They committed a crime…" he paused. "They birthed a hero."

"So-"

"Watch," Poseidon commanded.

I looked into the room once more.

"She's breathing really fast," my mother said.

I could see my little chest moving up and down in an unnatural way.

Suddenly, it stopped.

"She's- she's-" my mother cried openly this time.

"Do it now," my father said.

"Not yet," ghostly Poseidon said. "It's not time."

"She's turning blue! Do it NOW!" my dad shouted.

"Not yet," he replied again, his voice steely, though his shimmery eyes said otherwise.

"I-I can't watch this," I said, tears streaming down my face. "I can't watch myself…" I couldn't bring myself to say the word aloud… _die…_

"Jemma, this is important. You must know your weakness," Poseidon said gently. "You must."

I slowly turned back.

My dad had me now, his face twisted in pain and anger. He held me high above his head, and my little body floated up in the air, straight to the ghostly man. He took me in his arms, which were becoming solid. The baby me was starting to disappear to a ghostly appearance, all except for my throat.

"What are you doing?" my dad shouted. "Where is Jemma?"

The nearly solid Poseidon said nothing.

"What happened to me?" I asked.

"Wait for it," Poseidon said.

All at once, a bright flash engulfed us, followed by the sound of a baby crying. Once my eyes adjusted to the new light, I saw a baby laying on the foot of the bed, its eyes now greenish-blue.

"J-Jemma?" my mother asked, afraid. "James, is she…"

My father hesitantly reached down to pick up the crying infant. As he touched me, I stopped crying.

"Jemma… my sweet little girl," he said quietly. He handed me to my mom, and the two of them sat there, cuddling me.

"What just happened?" I asked, smiling at the family I never knew. "Did I… die?"

"One millisecond later, and you would have," Poseidon said. "I had to wait until the precise moment to give you my essence. Or else, neither one of us would be here right now."

"But my parents would be," I said quietly.

"Jemma, the choice was theirs. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Say you have a baby, and it's about to die. If you had the chance to save an innocent life, no matter the consequence, would you do it?"

I said nothing, as the reality of his words sank in. "Yes, yes I would. I would do anything." I smiled. I was proud of my parents. They sacrificed themselves for me. It was an… amazing feeling, although it make me feel quite alone in this world…

"Do you know the significance of this memory?"

"Umm… to see myself almost die, that away I will appreciate life much more?" I guessed.

"No Jemma. It was to show you your Achilles' Heel. You did understand where it was, right?"

I thought back to what just happened. Everything but my throat disappeared when Poseidon and I were becoming one. "It's my throat?" I asked.

"Yes, that is your one vulnerable spot. The only spot where we can ever truly be killed, forever. As in, no coming back, no essence left over. Gone…"

"I can't be killed, unless I'm hit in that one spot?" I asked.

"No, you can be killed like any regular mortal or half-blood, although you are much stronger than any mortal. You have the blood of a god coursing through your veins. I would remain intact, more or less, but you would go straight to Tartarus…" Poseidon mumbled.

"If I did die, then you could still find another host, right?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so. This was the way it was meant to be. A piece of me will always be inside of you, a piece I could never get back."

"So I'm like your only chance to live again?" I asked.

He nodded his head.

"This is our only chance. The Titans are planning something big, I can feel it. I'm afraid this is the one shot we have of making everything normal again."

"In the end, it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, we all die in the end, don't we?"

"There comes a point in everyone's lifetime, no matter how old, that the end will come. Even the gods won't last forever. We'll all fade away…" Poseidon said, deep in his thoughts.

I stood there and thought, too…. About life, and how fragile it was. How everything can vanish in the blink of an eye. How people you love leave before you get a chance to say goodbye.

"What… what exactly happened to my parents?" I asked.

"Well, I think they had nearly forgotten about their sacrifice. You were nearly a year old when the Titans finally came. James and Lilly did remember it, in the end, though. I think they went willingly, on the condition that you be taken to your great-grandmother's. They may not have known it, but the Titans couldn't have hurt you then anyways. By sacrificing themselves, you were safe and out of harm's way," Poseidon said.

"Did they die… peacefully?" I asked.

Poseidon's face twisted. "It doesn't matter how they died," he said. "It matters only that they gave their lives. You must honor them."

"How?"

"By defeating the filthy Titans and restoring the world," Poseidon yelled.

"Yes, I will have my revenge!" I shouted.

"Think of it as whatever you want, but this is your destiny. It's what you were born to do."

I smiled and nodded my head. "It is what I'm born to do…"

"Are you ready to return to the real world?" he asked.

"Can we go back to my granny's house first. I want to get something," I said.

"Of course," he smiled and took my hand. The colors began to swirl and then we were sitting on the old, blue sofa again.

I walked over to the little table and grabbed the picture of my family. I stared at it for a little while, then took it out of its frame and folded it up. As I was folding, I could see letters on the back. I unfolded it and read the note:

_Dearest Jemma,_

_I'm sure that by the time you've discovered this letter, you will have blossomed into a beautiful young woman. My only regret is that we weren't there to watch it happen. _

_As you have surely discovered, you are no ordinary girl. You have remarkable qualities, qualities that will come in handy. Poseidon did not pick you because you were in need of saving. Poseidon picked you because he needed saving, the whole world needed saving. Jemma dear, you are going to save the world, you and all the friends you have surely made. Friendship is one of the most important things anyone can ever have. Only with your friends can this work._

_Your father and I have recently learned of some grim and terrible news. The Titans have began a project that will drastically change… no, destroy the Earth. The Titans are too blinded by power to see what they are doing. No one can stop them. No one but you. You have the power to save us all, Jemma. I have faith in you. _

_We will always be with you Jemma, in your heart. We know you can do this. At times, it may seem like everything is being shoved on you all at once, and we know you didn't ask for this. But remember, good things take time. Great things happen all at once. _

_We love you, Jemma, with all of our heart. We pray that you will have the strength to be great. _

_With all the love in the world,_

_Mom and Dad_

I must have stood there for a long time, because suddenly I felt like I was being shaken.

My eyes fluttered open. The piercing blue eyes that were watching me, filled with relief. "Thank the gods Jemma! You're okay! You're okay…" Zac engulfed me in a hug.

I held Zac at arm's length. "No, you're okay." I hugged him tight, tears gathering in my eyes. "What happened?" I whispered, still in embrace.

Zac shivered and pulled away. He averted his eyes from mine, and stared at the floor. "W-what do you remember?"

I thought back to the experience. "I remember seeing myself holding you in my arms, then a light shot out of your body and into the beast."

"That wasn't a light," he whispered.

I frowned. "What-"

"It was my… soul."

"You were the sacrifice? But you're here right now," I said, grabbing his hand and holding it tight.

Zac looked up me, his normally vibrant eyes dull and lifeless. "James has the ability to show someone their death."

"You really did…"

"I saw how I die, which is not suppose to happen. It is against ancient laws to witness your death. Because then you can try to change it. But that of course changes the future."

"But the future's not set in stone," I said.

"How someone dies is," he argued.

I didn't say anything. In my mind, I came up with a plan. I could never let that happen to Zac. This way, what we just saw can't happen. I smiled and felt a tear escape. It was heart breaking to know what had to be done. Of course, I wouldn't tell anyone about my plan yet. It could wait.

I took my other hand and tried to wipe the tears from my eyes, when I felt something in my hand. I raised it to my face so I could see what it was. The folded family photo/letter was in my hand.

"What's that, Jem?" Zac asked.

I handed it to him, and he began to read the letter.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, after he had finished reading and looking at the picture on front.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you…" I whispered.

"I bet I would," Zac said quietly.

I sighed. "Help me sit up, would you?"

Zac helped me up from my bed, and I looked around. The walls were dark blue, with what looked like bubbles painted sporadically. My bed was in the shape of an orange lifeboat, with a bedspread the same pattern as my granny's sofa. All of the furniture was bubble shaped, including a strange looking device on my desk.

"Is that a CD player?" I asked excitedly.

"Uh… I don't even know what a CD player is…"

"It plays music- oh well," I mumbled. I'd investigate later.

Zac said, "Now tell me about the letter, Jem."

I told Zac all about my encounter. He never said a word through the entire thing. He just kept nodding his head like he knew how I felt. Once I finished, neither of us said anything.

Finally, I said, "Do you think I'm going crazy?"

Zac sat there, apparently trying to chose what words to use. Then, he said, "The thing happened to me, too…"

"What do you mean? How?" I asked

"When I blacked out, after seeing myself…" he shivered.

I put my arm around him, pulling him close.

He took a deep breath. "After I passed out, the same thing happened to me. I was inside my old bedroom, and my aunt was there. Turned out she was Zeus," Zac said. He blinked back a tear.

"What happened? What- Oh…" I realized what the tear was for. Poseidon appeared as my granny, who died. Zeus appeared as Zac aunt, so she must have died. "Zac, I'm so sorry."

He tried to smile. "It's my turn to tell the story, okay?"

I nodded my head and he continued. "Do you remember last year when I slipped off the roof of my house?"

I nodded my head. I remembered that day well… Zac and I had snuck out one night and we were sitting on the roof of his house, looking at the stars. Zac thought he saw something, and he got too close to the edge. Next thing I knew, Zac's broken body was sprawled across the ground. I told his parents, and he was rushed to the hospital. I remembered the doctors saying that nothing was going to heal Zac. He had broken nearly all the bones in his body. The doctors couldn't set them straight to heal. They gave him a few days to live, and I wasn't allowed to see him at all.

"When I was in the hospital, I guess the essence of Zeus came and gave my parents the option of saving me. They agreed, and when my heart stopped beating… Zeus took over." Zac shivered involuntarily.

"It's just so… scary…" he said. "To see yourself so helpless. And just knowing that you're about to go. But then to have a second chance… it's breathtaking…"

I rubbed my throat. Somehow, touching that spot made me feel normal. I didn't suppose it should, but it did. I felt human…

"Why're you rubbing your throat? Does it hurt?"

"It's my Achilles' Heel," I whispered.

Zac rubbed behind his right ear. "This is mine," he said. "Not very manly, is it? At least Percy's was somewhere sensible."

I reached up and rubbed his ear. "I think it's kinda cute."

Zac chuckled for real this time.

"It's good to hear you laugh," I said.

He just looked at me, his smile never wavering. "We're a sorry bunch, you know. We're lucky to even be alive. Every single one of us should be dead, but we've all gotten that one chance at redemption. And here we all are, ready to save the world."

I grinned and stood up. "What happened to James? You know, after the thing…"

Zac's smile was wiped off his face. "Everyone is in the dining room talking to Chiron," he said flatly.

"Zac, you can't be mad at James. He didn't know that would happen," I said.

Zac widened his eyes. "James didn't know? James didn't know? Oh yes, James knew. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew he was going to show me my death scene."

Zac turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

I sat back down on my bed, holding my head with my hands, the picture of my family on my lap.

"What am I going to do, Mom? You should be here right now giving me advice. And Dad, you should be sitting by me, hugging me and telling me everything will be alright," I whispered.

_How is this going to work? How is any of this going to work?_

I curled up on my bed, clutching what I had left of my family, and cried myself to sleep.

**Hmm... so, did you understand? Questions? Ask away! **

**Here's an idea I have. Since I'm sooooooo close to 400 reviews, whoever gives me the 404th review (be sure you're logged on, or I'll choose the 405th reviewer) will receive a special surprise! :) Come on now, REVIEW! **


	19. Bumpy Ride

**A new chapter? Whoa. That's crazy, I know. It's been quite sometime since I've updated. I've had some things on my mind that have... well, weighted me down. Check out my new oneshot, Seeds, if you'd like a better explaination. **

**As always, thanks to mah beta, Kanae Valentine. ^_^**

**In ze story, it's currently the night of the 5th of August. Almost the 6th.**

"How many are there?" a deep, menacing voice asked. The voice was familiar, I knew. I just couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"I don't know," another man said, his voice quiet, although it still radiated a whole heck of a lot of power.

"Lies!"

"No my Lord. Please," the quieter man whispered.

"I am not ignorant," the man with the deep voice replied, his voice like ice. "I know you have been less than loyal to me."

"W-where did you hear those… lies?"

"I am the all powerful Lord. There are no secrets before me," the deep voice boomed.

I could feel the tension in the air, and power… lots of power.

"Get out of my sight," the man with the gravely voice spat.

"But…" the other man whispered.

"Leave, now."

A bright, yellow light started to light up the dark area. Then, it stopped, returning to darkness.

"You cannot go though with this," the man whispered. "I won't let you."

I heard a low, menacing laugh, and then the deep voiced man said, "So, you've chosen your side then? This marks the start of war."

"Yes brother, yes it does," the quiet man said, and the blinding light returned, this time much more intense. The room's temperature rose, and I felt a sudden blast of heat.

The last thing I heard was the low, ominous laugh.

I snapped awake, opening my eyes, scanning the darkness. For a split second, I panicked, then I remembered where I was.

I slowly sat up in my bed and looked around. The room was completely dark, aside from a small, glowing area in the corner. Curiosity got the best of me as I stumbled over to it.

It looked like a big pot of water, except there was a small waterfall that was seemly coming from thin air. The water itself was what was glowing. There were several golden coins in the bottom of the water.

Cautiously, I reached my hand into the water, expecting the cool chill of the liquid, but I didn't feel a thing. It was like I was wearing gloves. I could feel the water, but not touch it, if that made sense. Just as I was about to grab the nearest coin, I flew up into the air, and landed with a _thump! _on the floor.

_Okay, _I thought. _It's completely normal for a sixteen year old girl to randomly fly into the air, right?_

I could hear a soft, almost growling-like noise. I smiled. Zac was sleeping well.

I stumbled back to my bed, and sat down. _Hmm… _My eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness, and I could just make out something sitting on the table beside my bed. I reached for the object, and held it up. It looked like an old fashion oil lamp. I remembered finding one like this in the old dump back at the "home". I tried turning the dial on the base, but it didn't light up. I frowned. This was different than the one I found before. I turned it over. In glowing blue letters, it said 'νερό'. _And that means? _

_Water, _said a deep voice from inside me.

I looked around. _Uh, Poseidon?_

The voice didn't respond.

_Water, eh? _I wondered. I looked closer at the lamp. It kind of looked like an hour glass, I guess. Except, there was a space in the front, that looked like a key hole.

_So now I need a key… _

I opened a few drawers, and dug through some things (I found some pretty nifty stuff!), but still no key.

_Keys can be made of more than just metal, _Poseidon whispered.

"What? Like… plastic keys or something…" I muttered.

No response.

_Okay, well… if the lantern has the word 'water' on it, then maybe it just needs to be uh… dipped in water? _I reasoned.

I picked up the lantern and carried it over to little glowing tub of water, nearly falling in the process.

I looked at the vat of water, its surface rippling, and dunked the lantern in it. For a split second, it lit up, but then faded.

_Dang it,_ I thought, and stubbed my toe on the edge of the pool.

_Channel your powers, _Poseidon said.

_And do what with them? _I asked.

_Think of the water like a flame, _Poseidon whispered inside my head. _Only you can sustain it. _

_Hmm… Sustain the water? _I thought. _Okay?_

I closed my eyes and I held my hand out over the pool of water. I visualized the water rising up, like a mini tornado. I took a quick peek at my hand. Nothing.

_Is there a manual for this sort of thing? _I ordered.

_It will come to you, _Poseidon said. _You just have to believe. _

I closed my eyes again, and took a deep breath. I willed the water to rise up to my hand, and imagined it doing so. I felt a small tug in my gut, and an almost magnetic-like pull in my hand. I looked down. A steady stem of water was flowing from the vat to my hand!

"Yes!" I shouted, then covered my mouth. The watery connection broke, and I tried to stay silent, waiting to see if anyone else had woken up.

I couldn't hear anything, aside from my heavy breathing. _Good, _I thought, and sat down on the floor.

_Try again, _the deep voice residing in my subconscious urged.

I sighed and held my hand out in front of me. "Why don't we see if I can _make _water," I whispered. I swore I heard Poseidon laugh.

I stared at my small, pale hand, and envisioned a tiny, water-like flame dancing in my palm. Nothing.

_So, I can't make water?_

_Imagine a gate opening, like a levy, and water flowing from it. Unleash the power within, Jemma, _Poseidon said.

"Umm…" I tried to think of a giant dam bursting, and a huge stream of water cascading from it. Suddenly, I felt… powerful, very powerful. I snapped my fingers together, and a small flame of water sputtered for a moment, then went out.

"Yeah, powerful," I muttered.

_It takes many years of practice, _he told me. _It cannot be mastered in a single night. _

I snapped my fingers again, and another water-flame erupted, this time staying for a bit longer. Once it went out, I felt exhausted.

_Why am I suddenly so tired? _I asked him.

_You're tapping into your own power reserves, which is very draining, _he explained. _That's why I always used my Trident for everything. _

_But when I used the Trident, I had too much power, _I explained.

_With great power comes great responsibility, _he said, barely a whisper in my mind.

I tried once more, this time focusing, as much as humanly possible, and imagined an orb of water in my hand. I felt nearly every ounce of my being collecting, and an orb appeared, floating just above my hand.

I raised my hand, and it raised too, never touching my palm. _Whoa, _I thought.

I stood, and started dancing with the orb.

_Focus, _Poseidon snapped. _A key, remember?_

"Right," I said, and picked up the lantern. I imagined the orb as a key, and it shifted, responding to my command.

The water-key flew into the key hole in the lantern, and it flickered to life. A soft, glowing blue light danced across the walls, and I slumped into my bed.

_Is it always this hard? _I asked him.

My mind-sharing mentor did not respond.

I felt my eye lids getting heavier, and I let them droop. I was almost asleep, when _bump!_ I was thrown into the air again, and I landed in a heap on the floor.

"Okay, what gives?" I asked no one, and grabbed my blue lantern. I shuffled to the door and opened it.

Across from my room was a pitch black door laced with skulls. _Hmm…_

I quietly closed my door, and turned to the right. It was the direction of the light. To the left was darkness. I took the path of light.

I walked past the dining room. It still fascinated me that a huge table and twelve chairs could fit. But, I guess that's magic for you.

I continued on, stopping at the refrigerator. I opened the steely gray door, and grabbed a jar of brown stuff.

_Peanut butter, _the label read. I shrugged my shoulders and closed the door.

I stumbled past the twin couches and TV, and finally, I reached a door that was slightly ajar. I poked my head in, and saw a lanky, black-headed boy at the driver's seat of the bus, a fierce look of concentration on his face.

"James," I whispered. "Can I come… in?"

He momentarily turned his head to look at me, and the bus jerked. I flew through the air and landed on the floor… again.

"Gods, Jemma. Get in here and buckle up," James muttered.

I slowly stood up and slid the door open. I squeezed through and closed it again.

"Sit down," he said, and motioned to the seat opposite his. "And put on your seat belt."

I sat down on the seat and buckled up. "What in Hades is going on?" I asked, then mentally cursed. _He _was Hades. "I mean, what's wrong with the bus?"

"It's not the bus," he said. "It's the road."

I looked out the window. In the bus' headlights, I could just make out huge, gaping holes in the road. James was maneuvering around them at lightning speed.

"What happened to the road?"

"Oh, I don't know. Why don't you ask it?" he murmured.

I gave him an evil glare which was wasted, since his eyes didn't stray from the road again.

We sat in silence.

I looked around the small area. James was sitting on a worn seat, his knuckles ghostly white from holding on to the wheel. There were several gauges, knobs, buttons, etc. on the dash board between us. The windshield was huge, and above it was about five TV monitors. One of them showed the back of the bus. The next one showed the area I had just passed, including the twin sofas. The one after that showed a darkened hallway.

The fourth one was focused on a dark room. And it wasn't dark because the lack of lighting. The walls were painted dark, the floor was darkly colored, etc. But all the furniture seemed to be made of white… pieces? The bed was constructed of long, white pieces, and white circles served as bed posts. The bed posts resembled skulls, but they couldn't be, could they?

The final monitor was focused on…

"Why is my room on the TV?"

"I um… They were already there," he said quickly.

"You're spying on me," I accused, a smirk mixed with fear on my face. "Admit it, you are."

James didn't say a word, a glimmer of a smile on his pierced face.

A flash of white caught my eye, and I turned around to look out the window.

Nothing.

_Probably just the moon, _I told myself, holding on to the seat tightly as the bus hit another bump, choking me with the seat belt.

"What could be causing these giant holes?" I asked, squinting my eyes at the road.

"Probably a monster," James muttered, his jaw set. "A really big one."

The silence continued.

"So, umm… tell me about your family," I said, breaking the quietness. "What were they like?"

James shook his head. "They were wonderful. Just wonderful." His tone of voice suggested otherwise, but I didn't press the matter.

"What about your mum and dad?" James asked. "Bet they were great. The three of you probably lived in a little cottage with little flowerboxes on the windows, and a little door with a welcome mat." James' voice was beginning to rise. "Your dad probably came into your room when it stormed at night and held you close while your mum sang you lullabies, right? And you ate at the dinner table every night together, laughing and talking, not a care in the world." He voice started to break. "And they loved you," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "They loved you with every ounce of their being."

I looked over at James, then down at my feet. "I really don't remember them," I said quietly.

James wiped a tear from his cheek, rolling over a bump in the process. "You don't just _forget_ your parents," he snapped.

"They made the deal when I was a baby," I said flatly. "They were gone before I was three years old. Three! So don't tell me I forgot my parents. To forget, you have to have memories in the first place."

"Don't tell me you have no memories at all," James spat.

I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped. I did remember some things. Flashes of smiles, bursts of laughing…

"See, you do remember," he said, his face blank.

I frowned. "What about you? Do you have memories?"

His face twisted, a look of pure hatred splayed across his face. "Memories," he laughed. "Funny thing, memories. You tend to remember the bad things more than any other."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confusion evident on my face.

He smiled and shook his head. "You would _never _understand."

"Try me," I said.

He shook his head again. "I don't think so."

I started to say something, but froze. I saw the white figure running in the woods, again. As soon as I turned to look, it disappeared.

"James, there's something out there," I whispered, my face pressed against the window.

"You've seen it too, then?" James asked.

I looked back over to him. He seemed to have changed; much more alert. "The white thing running alongside us?"

He nodded his head. "It's been following us for a while. I can't imagine it being a good sign."

"It's never a good sign," I muttered, rubbing my tear drop earrings. I had a feeling I would need them soon. Of course, I was right.

**I know, this chapter was pretty bad. I promise, the next chapter will contain violence. Yeah, I know how much you guys like that stuff. ;)**

**444th reviewer gets a prize!**

\\\\\/

\\\\/

\\\/

\\/

\/


	20. The Frumious Bandersnatch!

**Greetings. :) **

**A bit of a warning should be in order: I was watching Alice in Wonderland while writing this chapter and chapter 21 (which isn't finished yet), and I decided that I owed it to Lewis Carroll to do a couple chapters with his wonderfully wacky world. *cough*Ourstorieshavethesamename*cough* But, the next chapter is where most of the Alicey stuff takes place. 8D**

**Thanks to mah wonderful beta, Kanae Valentine. ^_^**

* * *

"James, James, there's a hole in the-" I flew up, my body trying very hard to resist the seatbelt. "You got that one good, didn't you?" I muttered, trying to loosen the belt. I failed.

James shook his head slightly, his black hair shielding his eyes.

Something caught my eye again, and my eyes darted outside, surveying the darkness. Nothing.

"Oh gods, James, there's-" my body was flattened against the seatbelt again as we traveled across another bump.

His knuckles tighten on the steering wheel even more, if that were possible. His jaw tightened, and he sighed. "I know. I can see the holes. It's just a bit difficult to dodge them when they're ALL OVER THE ROAD!" His lip twitched, the ring moving up and down.

"I-I know. I'm sorry, I'm just a bit on-" I stopped midsentence. I saw something. I turned just in time, to see a hulking white figure running beside the bus. It was easily as tall as the roof, its short legs producing strong, steady strides, its snowy white fur dotted with black spots. It glanced up to me, then disappeared. The last thing I saw of it was its cloudy white eyes, somehow full of understanding, a sort of cunning ability a trained killer would have. I shivered_. Where had those thoughts came from?_

"There's something out there," I said rather calmly. I was surprised at how composed I sounded. Inside, I was screaming.

"Of course there is," James said. "Kronos probably has his entire army of monsters after us."

"Wait, I didn't think Kronos knew we existed," I whispered.

James laughed nervously. "He knows about _some_ of us, at least."

"Huh? What'd you mean?"

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

"It does too matter!" I exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do_ anything_. That's the problem," he whispered.

"But that doesn't make any-"

James looked over at me for a micro-second, a tear gathering in his eye, and the bus jerked violently. I felt something hit the floorboard, and the bus shuddered to a stop.

"You've got to be kidding me," James muttered. He muttered a couple other things and stood up, opening the separating door.

"I'm coming with you," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "There's something out there. You might need some backup."

James looked down at me, a twinkle in his eyes. His lips brushed against my forehead as he walked past me, a glimmer of a smile on his face.

"Oh, that's just great," a new voice said. "I come to see what happened, and I find you getting very personal with some guy we just met. What's gotten into you, Jemma?"

My nose scrunched and I spun around. James winked and stepped out the door. I felt myself start to blush. Then I saw Zac. He was standing in the opening of the hallway, his fists clenched, his lip twitching. His hair was a mess, and his headband was lopsided.

"Zac, I-"

"Save it," he spat, storming past me and out the door.

_Awesome. _

I waited for just a moment to see if anyone else had woken. _Not a soul. _I smiled briefly and trudged down the stairs to the door.

Outside was dark, yet light. The sky itself was the darkest I had seen in a long time, but the moon was shining even brighter. The Titans were angry.

I turned back to the bus. I didn't Zac or James anywhere. "Zac, James," I whispered.

"Back here," came James' whisper. "Behind the bus."

I scurried along the side of the bus all the way to the back, to find the two boys leaning over something.

"What're you'-" I asked, squatting down beside them. Then I stopped. The thing we were looking at was about the size of a calf, although it was much more muscular, and had short legs. Its black spots stood out in contrast to the white fur, its paws like those of a dog. Its tiny head was completely white, its triangle ears sagging. Its chest was slowly moving up and down. It looked up at me, its white eyes pleading.

"It looks like-" Zac started to say.

"A baby," I finished. "I saw its mommy running beside the bus."

James' and Zac's eyes widened. "Then we need to go_, now_." They scrambled up, and both grabbed my hands, pulling me to the door.

"We can't just leave it!" I said, struggling against the two.

"Oh yes we can," Zac said, trying to pull me along.

"No," I said firmly.

"We _have_ to," James said, letting go of my hand. I started to run back to the baby, when a pair of strong arms locked around my waist. "Come on, we've got to hurry before-"

A deep, growling sort of scream penetrated the quiet night, and a bright light erupted. A huge crater formed a short distance away from us, sending bits of trees and other projectiles flying towards us.

James muttered something under his breath and picked me, cradling me in both arms. He started to run away from the bus, shielding me from the flying bits of stuff. "We've got to lead it away from the bus."

"Right," Zac shouted, chasing after us. "Let's lead it into the woods. Maybe it'll have a harder time following."

"Yeah, or maybe it's built for the woods," James muttered, but headed towards the woods anyway, me still in tow.

The beast caught up with us in no time, its legs propelling it towards us like a train, its rows of sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight like daggers, wickedly sharp. It maneuvered around the trees like lightning, each step bringing us closer to our deaths.

"We're going to have to fight it," I said quietly.

"I know," James muttered, breathing heavy. He was still running faster than Zac, even carrying me. "We just need to find a good spot. One that'll even the playing field."

I looked up at James. His dark eyebrows were set, his jaw clenched. His hair hung in sweaty clumps, and a piece was threatening to enter his eye. I reached up to brush the hair back.

"What're you doing?" he asked, his eyes momentarily looking down at me.

"I was- It was- There was a hair," I finished lamely, my cheeks flooding with color.

James' lip curled into a smile. I felt him chuckle.

"What in the-" Zac mumbled, his mouth gaping open.

I turned to look in the direction he was looking. My mouth opened as well.

All three of us stopped at the edge of a clearing. In front of us, spanning for who-knows-how-long, was an empty lot. The ground suddenly became stone tiles, gray like the moon. There was absolutely _nothing_ in front of us.

"Wow," I muttered, my eyes wide. "What _is_ it?"

"It's a miracle, that's what it is," James exclaimed. He had this big maniac grin on his face.

"This is…" Zac struggled to come up with the words to say. Finally he managed a, "Weird."

James walked forward, me still in his arms, and did a three-sixty around the area. "I can't see anything except the line of woods on our side," James said.

James continued to walk farther away from the woods. Zac followed.

"You can put her down now," Zac said angrily, his fists clenched.

James looked down at me and smiled. "My lady," he said, and let me down.

"Where did the thing go?" I asked, looking around.

"In the treetops, probably," James chuckled. "That's where they like to stay."

"The _treetops_?" I asked. "How do you know? And what is _it_?"

James laughed again. "The frumious Bandersnatch!"

"Look," Zac said, pointing to a figure in the trees. "I don't think it wants to fight."

The thing, correction: the _Bandersnatch, _was sitting at the top of a particularly large tree, watching us.

I stepped forward, my arms raised. "We're sorry," I started. "We're sorry for running over your baby. The road was hard to drive on, and James didn't see it, and he hit it." The Bandersnatch snarled and let out a loud cry.

I looked back to James and Zac. Zac was motioning for me to come back, and James was telling me to go on.

I sighed and turned back to Mama Bandersnatch. "We're all so sorry, aren't we guys?"

"Yeah, we're really sorry," Zac said quickly.

"This is amazing," James muttered. "Just like the book."

The Bandersnatch leaped down from the tree and crouched, a growl forming in its throat.

"James, say you're sorry," I snapped, grabbing my earrings. "_Now_."

"Curiouser and curiouser," James mumbled, a grin on his face. It was like he was seeing something completely different than us.

"Oh gods," I mumbled as the Bandersnatch charged, its claws digging into the stone. It reached us in three strides. I barely managed to leap to the side, knocking James down with me, as the Bandersnatch flew through the air where I had just been, its jaws tearing as if I were still there. It growled, a low sound deep inside its throat, and the white light formed inside its mouth.

"Zac, are you okay?" I yelled, throwing my earring into the air. I caught my Trident and rolled to the side as the beast launch the light. It hit the ground to the side of where James was lying, sending bits of stone through the air.

I couldn't see James anywhere.

"Jemma?" Zac yelled. "Jemma, where are you?"

The Bandersnatch turned towards me and growled again. For a moment, we locked eyes, and an understanding passed between us. She was on a mission. She was going to avenge her child's death. And she would stop at _nothing_ to achieve it.

Sometimes I forgot how powerful a mother's love was. Yeah, 'tis a very powerful thing.

The Bandersnatch launched itself at me, its muscles rippling under its fur, its mouth dripping with anticipation.

I willed my Trident to produce a wall of water, hoping and praying it would keep the beast at bay. I closed my eyes, willing every ounce of my being into that wall. It had to hold. It _had _to.

The Bandersnatch roared and tore through the wall like it was nothing, knocking me to the ground, my Trident flying through the air. It placed a paw on my chest, holding me down. Its claws dug into my skin, and I saw the warm liquid seeping through my shirt. It growled and pushed down harder, until it heard the satisfying _crack! _of my ribs. A shooting pain lit up my side and I yelped.

The Bandersnatch growled again, and lifted its other front paw, distributing more weight to the paw on my chest.

The world started to blur together, darkening around me. "Jemma, Jemma!" someone shouted, but I couldn't hear them. The last thing I saw was the claws of the Bandersnatch swiping across my face.

* * *

**And the plot thickens. :O**

**I have a feeling you guys may hate me a bit come next chapter. Let's just say, Jemma won't be quite the same ever again. o_O**

**How is a raven like a writing desk? **

**Check out my story in progess, _Death_. **

**I have some new stuff up on my profile for this story. Check it out, if you'd like. :)**

**Review if you would, my dears! **


	21. Tarrant Hightopp

**Aloha, my dearest friends. Did you know that my one year anniversary of publishing this story is coming up this month? It's kind of rediculous that I've been writing on this for nearly a year. I guess that means I'm either lazy, or dedicated. *shurgs* Probably both. ;) I'll have a new chapter out on the anniversary, okay? :D**

**Please enjoy, and thanks to Kanae Valentine for beta-ing. ^_^**

* * *

"Yes, I do fancy the cold, thank you very much," a nasally voice said, laughing. It was a girl's voice, and it had a distinct British twang to it.

"Well, I just wanted to be sure," another voice said, laughing as well. It belonged to a boy, semi high, but gravelly at the same time_. Zac_. "I mean, you never know. I'm Zeus, but I'm not real big on heights."

The girl and Zac laughed again, a new, laughing voice joined in, sort of high, but belonging to a male. It was more of a delirious laugh, though.

_What in the world? _I thought. I tried to open my eyes, but found I couldn't open the left. My view out of the right was blocked by something white. My hands immediately went to my face, trying to remove the obstruction. My side flared again, and I put my hands down and mumbled weakly.

"Jemma?" another voice whispered, lower than the others, and a bit gravelly. _James. _I felt a pair of hands take mine. They were so cold. "Can I take the bandage off her right eye?"

"Just the right," the unknown male voice said. "But not the left. Who knows what might happen then." He laughed.

James let go of my hands and he whispered, "It's James. I'm going to start to take off the bandage slowly, okay? I need you to be still Jemma." His voice had a tenderness I hadn't heard before.

"Mmhmm," I mumbled, unable to move my lips. _Why couldn't I move my lips?_

James peeled the bandage from my eye slowly, his fingers moving delicately across my face. He was singing a low tune to distract me from the pain. His voice was beautiful, in a haunting, melodic sort of way.

"_Your faith was strong but you needed proof. You saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty, in the moonlight, overthrew you. She tied you to a kitchen chair. She broke your throne, she cut your hair. And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah_."

Finally, he pulled the gauze from my eye, and I was met by the insanely bright light from the moon. I blinked a few times, and then tried to smile, but my entire face hurt. James was standing over me, his black eyes full of concern.

"James," I whispered, though it came out more like, "Aimuh."

"Oh gods Jemma, you're okay," James whispered, his eyes gathering water. "You're okay."

James was pushed back, and Zac came into view, the skin under his eyes dark. He reached down, his fingers gingerly stroking the area around my exposed eye. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

I thought about his question. _Does it hurt?_ No, nothing hurts right now. But then again, I couldn't feel my face, really. It was numb, I guess. But what was _it_? What happened to me?

"Moow," I said, though I meant it to be, "No."

"She can't even talk," Zac said. "I'm going to rip the gauze around her lips so she can, okay?" He reached down and touched the area where my mouth was, hidden beneath the cottony material.

A pale hand clamped Zac's wrist. "Don't do that," James said. "Her lips'll be too swollen to be able to talk, anyways. Just leave them bandaged up. We'll have to do the talking."

Zac shot a dirty look to his right, where I assumed James to be, then walked off. James emerged into my sight again.

"How about this," he said, forming his hand into a fist. He shook it up and down. "This means yes." Then, he took his pointer and middle finger and stuck them out, curling his ring and little fingers back. He connected those two with his thumb. "And this means no."

I meagerly curled my hand into a fist and shook it lightly. Moving my arms even hurt. Then I made the _no _sign, as well.

"Good job, Jemma," he said, a small smile on his face. "You're learning sign language."

_Sign language? _I wondered. _I remembered my granny talk about it. Something about how gramper used it before he died. But I never knew him. He passed away before I was born._

"Alright," James said. "Do you think it'd be okay to sit her up, _Tarrant_?" He said _Tarrant _funny, his Irish accent a bit more pronounced at the moment.

The unknown voice laughed again. "Oh, sure. Why not? I'll help you!"

I heard the sound of dishes clanging together, and the same maniac laugh echoing through the night.

James was pushed aside, and my vision was flooded with bright orange hair. I felt my upper body slowly rise, and myself being lifted. Then, I felt the familiar back of a chair, enabling me to sit upright. The orange hair backed away, so that I could properly see again, if only through one eye.

If I could have spoken, I surely would have gasped. The owner of the orange hair was ghostly pale, with the most brilliant lime green eyes. Under his wide eyes were a deep purple, and above, thick, bushy, orange eyebrows. His lips seemed to match the color under his eyes, as did his shirt. His tattered coat seemed to mark him as a once successful person. The hat that sat atop his head was the most noticeable thing about his, aside from his shocking hair. It was elegant, yet timeless, like it had truly stood the test of time.

The man smiled, and I saw a gap in between his teeth, perfectly symmetrical within his mouth. "Hello there," he said. I noticed that he didn't quite open his mouth all the way when he spoke, so his words slurred a bit.

I attempted to nod my head, and continued to examine the unusual man in front of me.

"Would you like some tea?" he asked, picking up a chipped teacup from the table behind him. He held it to his mouth and drank from it. His fingernails were an odd assortment of greens and purples and blues, and several of his fingers were wrapped in bandages. His hands had a dirty tinge to them, like he had never heard of soap. I felt bad after thinking that. I was quite certain mine looked like that, as well.

His face scrunched, and, out of nowhere, he chucked his cup of tea to his left. He leaned forward, and whispered to me, "You don't want this tea. It's dreadful." He promptly turned and leapt on top of the table, various cups and pots clanging against one another. He sauntered back to the other end of the table and sat at the chair opposite mine, at the other head of the table.

I looked to my right, and saw James slide into a chair near mine. He mustered a crooked smile at me. I turned to my left, and saw Zac sitting in the chair opposite James. There was an unknown girl sitting beside him.

She was very pale, nearly as pale as Tarrant. At least, I thought that was his name. That's what James addressed him as.

She had snowy white hair that was sure to reach her waist and eyes nearly the same color. There was very little difference in the iris than the whites of her eyes, and that accentuated the blackness of her pupils. A white masquerade mask sat atop her face, simple and elegant.

She wore a long, light blue coat that was trimmed in gold lacing and adorned in many jewels. She appeared to be ready for battle, as she had on plated armor across her chest. Her hands bore black, fingerless gloves. She daintily took a sip of tea, her eyes darting to me. I quickly looked away.

"I suppose you'd like to know what's going on, am I right?" James asked, placing an elbow on the table to prop his head up.

As I made the yes sign with my fist, the nasally voice, which I found out belonged to the girl, squealed, "No, no! Your elbows cannot be on the table. It's simply not proper!"

James rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut it. My elbows will go where they want to."

Tarrant let out another ecstatic laugh, as high as ever.

James' eyebrow momentarily rose, before saying, "You _do_ remember being attacked by the Bandersnatch, right?"

An involuntary shiver ran through my body as I remembered the Bandersnatch… _jumping, pushing, cracking, slashing… _

I couldn't respond to his question.

He grimaced and continued. "I saw that beast on top of you, Jemma, and I-" He shook his head. "I couldn't let it hurt you anymore. I snuck up behind it, and I killed it. But not soon enough." James looked away, shaking his head once more.

"I tried to stop it, Jemma, but it swatted me out of the way like I was nothing," Zac muttered, and reached up to my bandaged face. He gently stroked the area where my right eye was buried.

I stole a glance at the white headed girl. She was glaring at me, her eyebrows raised in disgust, as she sipped her tea. Zac saw me watching her and smiled, dropping his hand from my face, and replaced it on her hand. "Jemma, I'd like you to meet Jezabelle. She's Khione, the goddess of snow. Jezzie, this is Jemma, but you already knew that," he explained, practically beaming.

Jezabelle smiled at me, though her smile showed no warmth. She grinned as though she had won some sort of prize.

I turned back to James, who had a small smirk on his face, his black eyes twinkling. He was watching me. I raised my right eyebrow, hoping he would take it as, _Who the heck is she and where did she come from? _

Apparently he took it exactly as I meant him to, because he said, "After I did away with the Bandersnatch, the two of them appeared in the clearing, sitting at this table, sipping tea. The fellow with the hat is Tarrant Hightopp. He's the one who wrapped you all up."

I turned to face Tarrant. He had his ear up to the pot of tea, a serious look on his face. At the mention of his name, he straightened and focused on me, a crooked grin on his face. "I did a bit more than bandage you up, my dear."

I snapped my head back to James, my eye wide. My side lit up in pain again at the sudden movement, though the pain wasn't as sharp as previously.

James closed his eyes, his face contorted. "This wasn't my idea, Jem," he whispered. He took a moment to compose himself, and then began to tell me what had happened.

"Your poor face took quite the lashing from the Bandersnatch. You have no idea how bad you were bleeding when I picked up your broken little body." I looked closer at James. His black shirt looked stiff in patches, like something had dried on it. His hands bore remnants of a deep crimson color, as did his pale arms.

"Tarrant and Jezabelle poofed into the clearing and Tarrant immediately started to tend to your needs. He set your ribs straight and closed up your face. He also-"James continued, only to be interrupted by Tarrant himself.

"I removed your eye!" he exclaimed, holding up the tea pot he previously had his ear against. My hand immediately reached to the cottony area were my left eye was, or _used to be_.

_I only have one eye? _I thought frantically, looking from James to Zac, and finally to Tarrant.

"Oh Jemma, you have no idea how bad of shape you were in," Zac said.

_One eye? How will I ever be able to fight… anything, again? I won't be able to see that side. If someone were to attack from that side, I'd be doomed. How will I be able to protect my gang?_

"You're lucky to be alive, from what I hear," Jezabelle said snidely. "Very lucky."

"But don't worry," Tarrant said, a grin on his face. "I replaced your eye with a different one!"

My three counterparts snapped their heads at Tarrant. "You did what?"

He nodded his head robustly. "I gave her a very special eye."

_Special eye? Maybe I'll be able to see after all! _

Zac said, "Oh, that's great! That's wonderful!"

James, however, did not join in on the celebration. "What do you mean by _special_?" he asked reproachfully.

"Jemma has been given a gift. I suggest you do not question it," Tarrant said in a serious tone, not all like he had previously used. He looked up to the sky. "You should be going. It's nearing sunrise. You've got but twelve days to reach your destination."

"How did you know how long we have?" James asked.

Tarrant smiled. "Memories are the key to _everything_." At those words, James' eyes widened, and he abruptly stood up from his chair.

"Don't worry young hero, I have chosen my side. I will help with what I can, though it isn't much. Now you must be going. And Jemma dear, you can take off the bandages in, oh, three days. Not a moment sooner, though. Take it easy, your chest may cave in again. You'll probably want an eye patch for your eye once you take off the bandages, aye?" With those words, Tarrant snapped his fingers and he disappeared, taking the table and chairs with him. I felt gravity pulling me towards the ground, only to have James grab me at the last second. I tried to steady myself, but James picked me up… _again._

I craned my neck to see Zac rising to his feet. He then walked over to Jezabelle and helped her up. I felt oddly upset by this jester. _Was I jealous? _I asked myself. _No, I couldn't be. Zac was my best friend, nothing more. _I still couldn't shake the feeling.

"I think Tarrant wanted you to keep this, Jem," Zac said, reaching down to pick up the tea pot the Mad Hatter had been so fascinated with. He handed it to me.

I looked down at the tea pot. It was white, and painted with minuscule flowers. The lid sat atop it, begging to be lifted. I couldn't bring myself to do just that, though.

James briefly looked down at me, then said, "We should get going. You never know who could show up here next." He started walking towards the wooded border.

Once we had been walking for a while, and I could only vaguely hear Zac and Jezabelle talking behind us, I asked, "Who is she?" though it came out like, "Eww ess see?"

I felt James chuckle. "I don't know a thing about her, love. But neither does she."

I tried to raise my eyebrow hoping he would catch my drift. He did. "She doesn't remember a thing about her past. Says the first thing she remembers is sitting at the table beside Tarrant, watching me run forward with you in my arms."

I asked, "Who's Tarrant?" though it came out as, "Hoo Airant?"

"I have my suspicions, but I won't burden you with them. What you need is sleep," he whispered, and started humming, beckoning me into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Zac or James? Vote on my profile!**

**Um, anywho, thanks for reading. I do believe reviews are in order. I'm getting awful dang close to 500 reviews. How about, whoever gives me the 505th review, gets a prize. :D You must be logged in, and the review must be for this chapter to count. If not, I'll choose the 506th reviewer, and so forth. **

**Before I go, anyone else get the _insane _snow I did? We ended up with almost a foot, I think. It's alot for where we live, though. :D**


	22. I'm a Pirate

**Happy one year anniversary to me! :D Yeah, today is the one year anniversary of me posting the first chapter of _Through the Looking Glass_, and, as promised, here's a new chapter. **

**Thanks to my lovely beta Kanae Valentine! :D**

**Congrats to TheMaskedWarrior for being the 505th reivewer! :D Actually, she was the 508th reviewer, but the three previous reviewers were annonymous! Yeah. **

**Currently, 'tis the 10th of August. Enjoy! :D**

* * *

I remembered next to nothing of the past couple days, just flashes of when I woke up and quickly slipped back into unconsciousness. Each time I woke, a different person was in my room. I remember my entire body felt like it was on fire, like I was constantly enflamed. And my replacement eye felt the worst, like a thousand needles on fire in the middle of winter in Antarctica were continuously assaulting it.

When I finally came to, I felt completely drained, like I hadn't slept in weeks. My throat was incredibly dry and I felt… weak, I felt _human_, not at all like a god was inside me. I was almost happy, but then I remembered how terrible I felt.

I meagerly opened my right eye and looked around. I was still in my room. That was a good thing. Sunlight was seeping through the curtains over my window. It was daytime. A dark clad figure was hunched over in a chair near the foot of my bed. _James_, and he was snoring lightly.

I somehow managed to get my arms underneath me, and I slowly lifted myself into a sitting position. I looked down at my chest. It was wrapped up thick with white gauze. I lifted a hand to my head and felt the bandage that was still on it.

_How long had I been out?_

I waited for the dizziness that had accompanied the upright position, to subside. Once it did, I swung my legs over the side of my warm bed. My feet touched the cool blue tile, and I shivered, lifting them back up.

I heard James grunt, so I looked over to him. He had his hands up to his face, rubbing his eyes.

"Aimuh?" I asked, meaning it to be, "James."

He immediately dropped his hands, his eyes wide. The biggest grin plastered itself on his face as he jumped up and practically pranced to my bedside. He got down on his knees so we were eye level. "Oh Jemma, you're awake! You're awake…" he mumbled, taking my hands in his. They were so tiny in comparison to his, and nearly as pale.

"You've been asleep for three days," he said, rubbing my hands. "You looked like you were in so much pain. But Tarrant said you would be. That was the poison working its way out of your system."

_Three days meant I could take off the bandages, right? _I pointed towards my head, and motioned unwrapping it.

James looked hesitant, but said, "It _has_ been three days… I suppose we could…" He looked at me, his brows raised. "Do you still feel like your body is… on fire?"

I made the no sign in sign language like he showed me. He grinned.

"We'd better wait for Alexa to take them off, since she's Apollo. She'll actually know what she's doing," he whispered, running his fingers across my face.

"I ont ew tew," I managed to say, the cotton restricting my mouth. _I wanted him to do it._

"Are you sure-"

"I trut ew," I said, nodding. _I trusted him so much it hurt, though that may come back and bite me later on._

He looked pained for a moment, the displayed a false smile on his pale face. "Alright, but I'd only do it for you." He stood up and sat down on my bed, his hands raised. I leaned forward so he could start on my head.

While his fingers moved fluidly across my face, gently removing the bandages, he sang to me, the same song he sung to me before.

"_Maybe I've been here before. I know this room, I've walked this floor. I used to live alone before I knew you," _he sang, his voice velvety smooth. _"I've seen your flag on the marble arch. Love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah."_

"Alright," James said, breaking the tune of the song. "This is the final layer." I closed my good eye, and kept my other eye closed as well. He slowly peeled away the final layer, the cool air kissing my bare face.

"Oh Jem," he whispered, taking my hands again.

"Is it that bad?" I asked, surprised at my own voice. My lips felt a bit swollen, so my words came out a bit slurred.

James chuckled. "You're beautiful," he whispered. "No matter what."

I felt my cheeks flood with color. "Lead me to the mirror, please. I want to see…"

James helped me up, and led me to the dresser where my mirror hung. "Okay Jemma, we're here," he whispered, taking my hand.

I stood there for a moment, preparing myself for what lay in front of me, reflecting back out of the mirror. Slowly, I opened my right eye.

_Wow._

_Just… wow._

Staring back at me, was a girl with short black hair like mine. She was pale like I was. She had one sea green eye opened wide. Her entire face seemed to be puffed up, swollen. She had these four, hideous gashes running down her face. The first gash started at the tip of her left brow and ran across the bridge of her nose, and down her right cheek. The second gash reached across her entire face, and it was clearly the deepest. It started at the end of her left brow, running through her closed eye, over a large portion of her nose, and across the right corner of her lips. The third gash started just below her left eye, and ran along her cheek to her lips. It cut through her lips and down onto her chin. The final gash ran along her cheekbone, and reached her chin.

The girl mimicked my every movement. When I reached up and ran my fingers along the cut marks, she did too. Whenever I tried to move my swollen lips, so did she.

"Who is that?" I asked, watching the girl in the mirror. I saw a tear escape her eye. She reached up to wipe it away just like I did.

"Jemma, love," James whispered, wrapping his arms gently around me. "It's okay, it's okay."

"I'm a freak," I whispered, feeling the tears welling in my eye. I couldn't help it, though. "I'm a hideous freak."

"No you're not," he cooed. "You're beautiful. You're an amazing person. I've never met anyone as brave as you are."

"No, I'm nothing," I muttered, leaning into his shoulder, the tears falling freely now.

"Jemma, look at me," he commanded, gingerly lifting up my chin. I tried to look away, but he held firm. "Jemma, you're so special. You're my sunshine. If only you could see what I see in you…"

I felt a little smile form on my lips. "I'm your sunshine?"

He nodded his head, his cheeks flushed with color. "Yeah, you are. Every time I look at you, you make me smile. You've brought light to my world, Jemma, you really have."

I grinned and blushed. "You're really something yourself."

He winked. "Oh, I know. Now come on, I want to see that new eye of yours." He turned me around to face the mirror again.

_Okay, I can do this, _I told myself. I took a deep breath and opened my left eye.

Suddenly, I was seeing two different things. I couldn't focus on one without the other blurring. I felt really dizzy, and a pounding started in my head. I immediately doubled over, clutching my head. I closed my eyes and tried to make sense of what happened_. _

James had sat down with me, cradling me in his arms. "What happened?" he asked.

With my eyes still closed, I explained how it felt like I was seeing two different things.

"Hmm…" he said, clearly thinking. "When you had just your right eye opened, you saw everything fine, right?"

"Yeah, I saw just like normal," I said.

"What if you just opened your left, and kept your right closed?"

"I- I could try," I muttered, and opened my left eye.

_I wasn't in my body. It was like I was seeing through someone else's eyes, though I wasn't inside their body. I looked around. _

_The room was dark, and I had the strangest sense that I had been here before. It was fairly large and sticky, humid. _

"_You know something I don't," a deep, voice said. I had heard the voice before, yet it still made me quake in my socks. "I cannot allow that."_

"_I know many things you do not," another voice replied curtly. This one was higher pitched, but oddly familiar, all the same. It belonged to that of a female. "Things that no one but I know. Things you would deem useless and not worth the time. Memories are a powerful thing, mind you."_

"_Don't start your word games again," the man shouted, his voice bouncing off the walls, echoing. "I require information, and that is what I shall get!"_

_The woman laughed, cold and harsh. "I'm afraid I cannot provide what you seek, brother."_

_Everything was silent for a moment. Finally, the man said, "I'm on to your plans. I regret to inform you that they will fail. Your futile attempts will fall short."_

_The woman sighed. "We can all think what we like, but in the end, the present is all that matters."_

_The man laughed this time. "You wouldn't understand the power of time."_

"'_Tis exactly my point!" the woman exclaimed. "You wouldn't understand, I wouldn't understand. That's why there are twelve of us! We share the power equally, and all is right and balanced."_

"_I think you have overstayed your visit," the deep voice replied. _

"_Very well," the woman said. "But before I go, Nicomachus of Bate, any problems with your surgery?"_

"_All is well, My Lady," a voice said, coming from somewhere in the area I occupied. _

"_Good, good. Now then, as you previously stated, brother, I must be on my way," the woman whispered, and the room was flooded with an extremely bright, white light. _

I snapped my eyes closed, and doubled over again.

"Jemma, what did you see?" James asked, rubbing my back. "What happened?"

"It was so weird," I said, "like I was seeing through some else's eyes." I told him what I was able to hear from my experience.

James was silent, breathing thoughtfully. I hesitantly opened my right eye so I could see.

Finally, James sighed. "I guess we know what Tarrant meant when he said he gave you a _very special eye_."

I gave a small grunt. "Yeah, real special."

"I'm sure he had a reason to give you _that _eye," James said. "And you said something about a Nicomachus?"

"Yeah, of Bate," I muttered, thinking back on the conversation I probably shouldn't have heard. "Why? Do you know him?"

"I think I've read about him," James said, his brows creased.

"Oh really? So who is he?"

James shook his head. "I don't remember. The name's just familiar."

We sat in silence for a while, but it wasn't an awkward silence, it was a thoughtful silence. Suddenly, James jumped up and ran out the room like his tail was on fire. You know… if he had a tail.

_Okay…_

I stood up and looked back into the mirror. My entire upper body was wrapped up in thick, white bandages. At first glance, and if you only had one eye, you might think it was a shirt. Well, no, you probably wouldn't, even _then_. Luckily, I had a thin grey sweater covering my arms so I didn't feel completely awkward.

I realized that breathing was a bit difficult. I wasn't sure if it was because of the mass of bandages constricting me, or something else. I remembered reading about chest injuries in my health class. The damage sometimes wasn't revealed immediately after blunt force trauma. I ran through a list in my head of all the symptoms I could think of.

My door opened, and James strolled back in. "Tarrant said you'd want to keep that eye of yours covered, didn't he?"

"Um, yeah, I think he said something about that," I mumbled.

"Close your eyes," James whispered. I did as I was told. I heard his footsteps behind me, then felt him slip something on my head.

"What are you-"

"Alright, you can open your eye now," he said, his fingers brushing against my arm. I opened my eye, and looked in the mirror. The same girl was still standing there, the four gashes running across her face. There was something new, though, resting on her pale face, an eye patch, black, with a skull and bones.

"I look like a pirate," I muttered, moving my head to fully examine it.

James remained silent, watching me.

"Why did you randomly have an eye patch with you?" I asked, turning to look at him.

He smiled sorrowfully and sighed. "It was my sister's."

"You have a sister? Really?"

He looked away. "_Had_," he whispered.

"Oh," I mumbled. "I'm sorry." That was the wrong thing to say. James abruptly stormed out of the room, slamming my door. I heard a similar door slam a moment later.

_Note to self: that's a touchy subject._

"Oh my gods, you are so funny," a voice said with a British accent. _Jezabelle_. That statement was followed by a chorus of laughter.

I walked over to my bed and stood on top of it so I could see out the small window. Sure enough, my gang was strutting towards the bus, smiles on their faces. They had just exited a small building. The sign above the door read, _Waffle House_.

I stepped down off my bed, and strode out of my room, quickly glancing to James' closed bedroom door. _I wonder what happened to his sister…_

Shoving that thought aside, I continued through the kitchen and to the door. I stepped down the few stairs and reached to towards the handle to open the door, only to have it fling open. Gravity decided to step in, and I stumbled past the non-existent door, and right into _Jezabelle._ We both went crashing to the ground, and I landed on top of her.

Immediately, pain seared in my chest and up my side.

"What in the- What are doing? You could have killed me!" Jezabelle shouted, her eyes in a blinding fury. I couldn't formulate the words to say, so she continued. "What are you still doing on top o' me? Get off!"

I realized I was indeed laying on her. Moaning, I rolled over onto my back so she could stand. She did.

"Jemma! Are you okay?" Sarah asked, squatting down beside me. She brushed a brownish-black strand of hair out of her eyes. "How are you? Are you hurt again? Or do you still hurt from the attack? Can I get you something? Do you need help up? Do you want me to get somebody-"

"I'm _okay_, Sarah," I muttered, accentuating the _okay_. I tried to sit up, but the pain in my chest was too great. "I just need a little help getting up, that's all."

"Gee Jem, you always manage to find your way to the ground, don't you?" Chad said, emerging into my view. Des was standing beside him, her fingers brushing against his. They were standing closer than usual next to each other. _They were so cute!_

_Shut it, Jemma,_ Des said. Her voice in my head bore a serious tone, though her eyes twinkled.

_You know you like it, _I thought to Des, trying to smile. I still couldn't quite accomplish that feat. Des rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Jemma!" my little Donnie shouted from somewhere. I couldn't see him from my limited viewing area on the ground, surrounded by people.

"Donnie, no, you need to go into the-" Sarah started to say, when Donnie broke through the small circle around me. He had a big grin on his face, but it dropped when he saw me.

"J-Jemma?" he asked, his tiny brows creased. His head was cocked to one side. He clutched his toy car tightly in his hand.

"Hey sweetie," I whispered. "Did you fill your tummy in the restaurant?"

Donnie continued to watch me, an unsure expression on his round face.

Sarah placed a tanned arm around Donnie's small frame. "Why don't we go inside where it's cool?"

Donnie looked up at Sarah. "Okay." He looked back down at me and cracked a grin. "Now you've got a battle scar, Jemma!" We all cracked up at that remark, and Sarah led Donnie away, Natalie following behind them into the bus.

_Donnie never ceased to amaze me, _I thought. _He continued to surprise me. _

"Alright, let's get you up," Chad said. The next thing I knew, Chad had his hands under my pits lifting me up with a delicate touch I didn't know he had.

"Thanks Chady-Boy," I said, patting his shoulder. I quickly sucked in a breath. _That was weird._ _It was like I couldn't get enough air for a second there._ I pushed it to the back of my mind.

"Be careful, okay?" Chad said, a somber expression on his blunt face. His fingers entwined with Des', and they climbed into the bus.

"Watch where you're going, alright?" Jezabelle spat as she walked past me, towing Zac behind her. They also entered the bus.

I started to open the bus door, when Alexa said, "Jemma wait, can I talk to you for a sec?"

I turned around and was face-to-face with a pair of big honey eyes and a splash of freckles across a small nose. "Sure," I said, taking a small step back.

"Great, let's go back into the Pancake House," she said, pointing to the building they had just come from.

"You mean the _Waffle_ House, right?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I had pancakes." She skipped off towards the building. I sighed and followed her.

A waitress escorted us to our table, a small two person table in the back corner of the room, as requested by Alexa. I felt like people were staring at my scars. I stared at the ground, remembering all I had on was a light sweater, the thick white bandages displayed for all to see. Oh, and my gray skirt.

The waitress took our orders and walked off, leaving us in the semi-secluded corner.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked, sipping from my glass of water.

Alexa bit her lip, deciding what to say. Finally, she said, "I know what you're planning on doing. I just wanted to tell you that I would be coming with you."

"Wait, what do you mean you know what I'm—"

She shook her head, her blonde locks swishing with the movement. "Please don't make me explain, Jemma."

"Um, okay," I said. "But why do you want to come with me? I mean, not that I'm not pleased, but…" I trailed off.

The waitress sat out food down in front of us and walked off without a word.

Looking over her shoulder towards the kitchen, Alexa said, "It will have the best outcome for us all."

"What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly drawing in another quick breath like before.

Alexa snapped her head back at me. "Are you having trouble breathing?"

I shook my head. "I'm _fine_," I assured her.

Her eyes narrowed. "You'll tell me if anything's wrong, right?" I nodded my head, though it was a lie. I didn't want to burden anyone.

She looked back towards the kitchen door. "Something's not right," she whispered, fiddling with a golden ring on her finger. It seemed to glow. "The aura in here has changed."

"What do you—"

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down, the lights in the building flickering off, the curtains snapping down over the windows like they had a mind of their own. I couldn't see much of anything.

Alexa slipped off her golden ring and tossed it into the air. It began to lengthen until it was nearly as big as herself. She held the Bow of Light in her hands, and whispered, "You're going to have to fight, Jemma. Just take it easy, and wait for my cue."

"What's going on?" I whispered back, stumbling out of the chair while pulling out my teardrop earring. I lightly tossed it into the air and the Trident fell into my outstretched hand.

"It's a creature of darkness," she explained quickly. "Something Kronos created. It's unknown what they look like, only that they scope out their prey before—" She stopped, and I felt something glide by behind me, barely noticeable.

"Before they what?" I asked, my heart fluttering.

"On the count of three, you have to roll out of the way, okay? Go to the left, and strike with everything you've got. We're only going to get one shot at this," she muttered, raising her bow. She drew a single arrow, glowing like the very sun itself. As she drew back, the room lit up, and for a horrid moment, I saw the wicked beast. It was completely black, with glowing, intelligent eyes—the kind of eyes that make you feel inferior to everything else. Its sleek, muscular body was tense, its tall stiff behind it. Its triangular ears were pressed flat against its head, and its maw was open in a snarl, its jagged teeth dripping with anticipation.

"One," Alexa whispered, her eyes trained on the beast. The beast's eyes narrowed, and a low growl escaped its throat. "Two." The beast sprung forward, bounding towards us at an unnatural pace. I looked over at Alexa, who had her eyes closed. The beast crouched when it reached us, and leapt forward. At the last second, Alexa yelled, "Three!" and dove to the right, releasing an arrow of pure light. I jumped to the left, and willed a stream of water at the creature, every ounce of my being pouring into it.

The beast clawed through the area we had just occupied, shuddering as Alexa's and my combined powers pelted it. It hit the wall, and landed on one of the tables, trying to shake off the hit.

"Come on," Alexa shouted, taking off towards the door of the building. "We need to get it out of here before the mortals get hurt."

As she said that, I noticed all the people hunkered underneath tables, terrified expressions splayed across their faces.

"Right, let's go," I yelled, following Alexa. The beast stood and crouched again, its mouth snarled. It leapt again, landing mere inches from me. A scream escaped my lips as I surged forward, overtaking Alexa. I pushed open the door and sprinted out.

"Jemma, we're going to have to actually fight it," Alexa said, running beside me. "Like hand-to-hand."

I took in a sharp breath. _I have to stop running,_ I told myself. _I cannot keep going._ I stopped on my heals, and turned, kneeling on the ground. The black beast dove towards me, and I had an awful flash of the Bandersnatch attacking me. I shook off the memory, and brought my Trident forward. The beast realized too late what was happening as it leapt right into the sharp prongs. Gravity brought the beast crashing down as its body went limp, knocking me to the ground. I felt the heavy mass bury me, trapping me underneath. My chest exploded in pain.

I couldn't take in enough air. My lungs were screaming and my body was numb. My vision was clouded in blackness. I vaguely heard voices as I drifted elsewhere, the pain leaving my body.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Ya know what the next step is? Reviewing! :D **

**Jemma/Zac is currently winning on the poll on my profile. What's ya'll think 'bout that? XD**

**Now for some _Through the Looking Glass_ quick fact-type-dealios. ;) Since the posting of the first chapter, it has been viewed over 18,000 times. It is on the favorites list of 131 authors and on the alert list of 117 authors. It's got over _half a thousand_ reviews to the date. Wowie! Thank you all sooooo much! :D**


	23. The OMG Moment

**'Ello, dears. :) Thanks for sticking with me. **

**Now then, I have several things before you start reading:**

**-I have a website! (link on profile) *confetti cannon* It's got all sorts of fun things on it, including character bios, pictures from the story, and chapter overviews. Go check it out! Become a member! Vote for Obama! Okay, the last part's optional. ;)**

**-I made a trailer for _Through the Looking Glass_. There's a link on my profile. I'd love to hear your thoughts. :D**

**-I'm in the process of re-editing previous chapters of this story. I'm not changing the content, I'm just correcting things and adding in details when appropriate. It's scary to see how much my writing's changed in a year. :O**

**-_Through the Looking Glass_ has been nominated for a Verita! *hugs whoever was awesome enough to nominate it* Whenever it's time to vote, can I count on all of you to vote? :)**

**Mhm, I suppose that's all. Eh, check out my profile for extra stuff. :D **

**Thanks to Kanae Valentine for beta-ing, and TO MY DEAREST HELPER WHO I LOVE VERY MUCH AND SADLY HAVENT MET IN PERSON, SQUEAKY. A.K.A. 3AllTimeLowLover3. ;)**

**Now then, get yo readin' on! XD**

* * *

I woke up in my room, _again_. My chest was on fire, _again_. I had a pounding headache, _again_. That was becoming the norm for me. Alexa was sitting with me, waiting for me to wake up. Apparently the creature we had battled had re-broken my ribs and sternum, so I was doomed to this blasted cast for even more time. Alexa had done her best to heal me, but she wasn't as skilled as Tarrant had been. She informed me that everyone was waiting in the dining room. She told them I had big news to share. That's what I was doing now, trying to explain to them my plan.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You want us to do _what_?" Chad asked, his jaw set. I could see his fists clenched under the table.

No one else had dared to speak yet. They all had their heads down, taking an interest in the table in front of them. Not that I blamed them. I still had trouble accepting my plan.

"We have to split up," I said again, trying to make my voice steely. It wasn't working too well. "We'll be able to cover more ground. That means we'll be more likely to find others like us."

Zac looked up at me, his vibrant blue eyes gloomy. He nodded his head slowly. "She's right," he whispered, a faraway look on his face. "It's a good idea."

No one spoke.

Finally, Natalie asked, "How will the other group travel? I mean, one group will get the bus, but what about the other?"

I shook my head. "To be honest, I'm not sure. I guess—"

"We'll do whatever we need to do," Zac said gravely.

Again, no one spoke.

I cleared my throat and said, "I've been thinking about how we should split the groups, and I'd like to hear what you think of what I decided." Several people raised their heads and looked at me expectantly, so I continued. "I was thinking that I would lead a group, and Zac would lead a group." That raised a snort from James, whom I ignored. "Sarah, Donnie, Alexa and James would go with me, and Natalie, Chad, Des, and Jezabelle would go with Zac."

Chad immediately stood up, his fists still clenched. "I'm not going with you? Why? I _won't _go with him, Jemma. You can't make me."

I looked over at Des, who was looking at me with a questioning gaze. _Des, please tell Chad that I need him to protect that group. They won't last without him. Tell him that I wouldn't trust anyone but him to do it._ Des raised an eyebrow and briefly nodded her head. I could only hope she would explain that to Chad.

"I, for one, am satisfied with the groups," Jezabelle said with a smug grin on her face.

I closed my eye briefly, rolling it in the process. I was glad to get rid of Jezabelle, though I wasn't too keen on the idea of her spending a lot of time with Zac.

There was a lapse in conversation again, broken by myself. "We've got eight days to make it to San Francisco. That's eight days to travel over _two thousand_ miles. We've got to plan this right, or it'll never work."

"And what do you suggest we do, your highness?" James asked. He had his feet propped up on the table, his arms behind his head.

"You've surely got an old map around here somewhere, don't you?" I asked, scanning the room.

"Somewhere," James mumbled, looking at his fingernails, obviously no help.

_I have some maps in my room, _Des said quickly, and walked out of the room.

"Are… are you sure this is the best thing to do?" Sarah asked, her hazel eyes wide. She gave me an unsure smile.

My eyes briefly darted to Zac's, then back to Sarah's. I nodded my head. "Yeah, I'm sure."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Then I guess I'll have to be okay with it. I'll do whatever you want me to."

"Even jump off a bridge?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

She grinned, and her eyes crinkled. "If you had a good reason, then I would." Her face suddenly morphed into that of a serious expression. "I trust you with every ounce of my being, Jemma. I know you'll do the right thing."

I looked down at the table, feeling my checks redden. One thing's for sure, those kids sure did trust me. More than I trusted myself. That was both a good thing and a bad thing.

Alexa cleared her throat, causing me to look up. Once she knew she had my attention, she reached a hand into her pocket, pulling out the familiar grey contraption, its handle worn and tarnished. _The mirror_. "I think you'd better tell Chiron your plan," she whispered, handing the mirror to me. "Or, I guess it's _our _plan, now."

I nodded and sat the mirror down on the table, gazing down into it. "Have you guys kept the other side informed while I've been down?"

"Yep, Jem," Sarah said with a nod.

"So they won't be shocked by my um… _appearance_?"

"Don't worry, Jemma, it'll be fine," Zac said, giving me a reassuring grin.

I was just about to speak into the mirror, whenever Des came back into the room, a large piece of rolled up paper under one arm. _One map, your highness,_ she said, spreading it out on the table. It took up a large portion of the twelve-seater table. It was a map of America only. _Good_.

"Where are we right now?" I asked James.

"Indiana," he said.

"Where at in Indi—"

"Ohio."

"Wait, what—"

"Kentucky."

"What? How can we be in three states?" I asked. "I don't understand."

James cracked a grin. "We're at the border between the three states, dearest. Take a look at the map and you'll see what I mean."

I raised an eyebrow and looked down at the map. Sure enough, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky did meet at a point. "So, that's where we are?" I asked, pointing to the intersection.

James nodded his pale head. "Yes ma'am."

_Hmm…_ _in order to cover the most ground possible… _I took my finger and traced a line, arcing up to the north, slowly snaking its way to San Francisco. Then, I traced one leading to the south, also ending up at San Francisco. _That could work,_ thought to myself. "Anyone have a pen, or a marker, or something?" I asked.

James pulled a marker from his shoe and tossed it to me. "Just give it back. Sharpies are hard to come by now-a-days."

"Okay, um, sure?" I mumbled, looking down at the map, and removed the cap from the marker. I placed a big dot on the area where we were. Then, I circled the area where it said _San Francisco_. "So, our objective is to cover the most ground possible, right? And get to Frisco in eight days…" I took the marker and drew a thick line, leading at an upwards angle. Once it reached Washington, it angled sharply down, ending at the circled area. Then, I drew a second line, leading nearly straight down. Once it reached Georgia, it slowly angled upwards, all the way to San Francisco. I stepped back, letting everyone else swarm around the map.

"Okay, I call the southern route," Natalie said, stepped back from the map. "Please Jemma. Let us go south! I need a tan. Oh, and there's bound to be some cuties down south. I could meet a cowboy or—"

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "I figured you guys would go south. My group can go north."

She grinned and thanked me, then went over to talk to Sarah. Apparently, the two had become quite close since I had been in recovery. Who would have thought _they_, of all people, would be that close.

Once everyone had had a look at the map, I took the Sharpie and wrote _Jemma, James, Sarah, Donnie, Alexa_ along the top route. Then, I wrote _Zacia, Natalie, Jezabelle, Chad, Des_ along the bottom route. I looked back up at the gang, who wore mixed expressions. I could probably guess what they were feeling—excited for a new adventure, but scared for us splitting—because I was feeling the same way. "Okay guys," I said. "We'd better give Chiron the run-down, now."

I received a chorus of nods from my friends as I grabbed the mirror. "Chiron?" I asked, gazing into the black surface. There was no response. "Chiron, are you there?" I asked, louder than the first time. Still, no response. "CHIRON?" I yelled, and suddenly the mirror swirled many different colors. Once the scene focused, I was met with a pair of eyes, black as death. Black hair hung in sweaty clumps, and perspiration beaded on his pale forehead. _Nico_.

He cracked a grin I had learned to expect, and said, "Sorry, I'm still not Chiron." He raised an eyebrow and grinned a bit wider. "Nice battle scars, Jemma. Now you look tough. You look more… _leaderish_."

Sarah walked up beside me and tilted the mirror so she could see, as well. "Hey Nico," she said with a giggle. "You been working out?"

Nico's cheeks flooded with red, and his eyes widened. "Uh, Percy and I were practicing some new sword fighting techniques," he said quickly, and the mirror swirled, revealing two sea green eyes. _Percy_.

"Hey Percy," I said, glancing to Sarah. Her cheeks were also red. I heard her mutter something, and then she meandered away.

"Oh, h-hey Jemma," Percy said, biting his lip. He was, no doubt, staring at my new scars. "Are you feeling better?"

I sucked in a quick breath before saying, "Oh yeah, I'm feeling alright. I've been condemned to this cast for a while longer, though."

He raised a black brow. "What do you mean? What happened? Are you hurt again?"

I told him what had happened at the _Waffle House_, and how the beast had rebroken some bones. He seemed genuinely concerned, and kept nodding. Once I had finished, he shook his head. "You need to be careful while you're hurt, Jemma, alright?" I gave him a half-hearted nod, which prodded him to say, "I'm serious. You're going to need your full strength when you battle the Titans. It'll take everything you've got, every_one_ you've got."

"I know, Percy," I muttered, a small smile gracing my lips. He was _really_ getting worked up about this.

"Okay," he said. "I'll go find Chiron." The mirror swirled, finally returning to black.

"Are you _sure_ you want to do this, Jemma?" Chad asked, a frown on his face. "We can call it all off, still, if you want."

I gave him a small smile. "Chad, I'm _completely_ sure. This is for the best, and we'll see each other again, soon enough." _Though I couldn't shake the feeling that whenever we did meet again, something bad was going to happen,_ I added silently.

"Okay Jem, if this is what you really want, then I'm in," Chad said, a smirk on his face. If Chad, the one I feared would be the hardest to convince, was in, then it would be easy sailing the rest of the way.

Someone cleared their throat, and then I heard Chiron say, "Jemma, are you there?"

I gave Chad a quick grin, then picked up the mirror. Chiron's intense eyes were staring back at me. He gave me a nod. "Chiron, long time no see, eh?"

"Indeed, it has been quite some time," he said. "I see you're on the path to recovery?"

"I am," I said, smiling. "The sooner I'm out of this cast, the better. And besides, I've got Alexa to speed up the recovery process."

"You're definitely in good hands," he said, his eyes crinkling. "Now then, you have something you wish to discuss?"

My eyes briefly shifted to Zac, who gave me an encouraging nod, then back to the mirror. "Uh yeah, I do." I continued to explain to him my plan. I told him how the groups were splitting up, and showed him the map I had drawn the paths on. The entire time I talked to him, he nodded his head, and asked questions when appropriate.

"Now children," Chiron began. "Would you like my honest thoughts on this?"

I bit my lip, knowing he was about to dissect my plan. But I valued his views, so I nodded my head. "Yes, I'd like your thoughts."

"Very well." He nodded his head. "I think this plan is a good idea, though it's going to be very hard to accomplish. With your forces divided, defeating monsters will be much more difficult. We also cannot know how this will affect the prophecy—"

"Who's to say that this isn't the way it's supposed to happen?" James asked. I turned, pointing the mirror towards him.

"Ah, Mr. Manson, that is true, we cannot be sure until the prophecy has passed," Chiron said. James smirked, and I rolled my eye, turning the mirror back so I could see.

"Whatever happens," Alexa said, "happens for a reason. It'll all work out for the best."

"Truer words could not be spoken," Chiron said. "Time is, after all, the fire we all burn in."

"That's one way to look at it," Jezabelle said, adding a snort in the process.

I sighed under my breath, again letting my thoughts wonder elsewhere about the possibility of Zac and Jezabelle together. "I guess that's all we needed to discuss," I said.

Chiron gave me a nod, then said in a very low voice, one that I wouldn't have even heard if I hadn't seen his mouth move, "Once you are alone, we need to discuss something more. But only when you're absolutely alone." Then he spoke up, "You'll need to set off today, children, as soon as possible."

"Okay," I said. "We'll be apart before Hyperion leaves the sky." I tried not to let my voice quiver, because the tone in Chiron's voice made me a bit uneasy.

A glimmer of a smile played on Chiron's face as he said, "Those days are numbered." Then the screen swirled, before returning to black.

"Alright," Chad said, "you have to admit that last line was a bit creepy. _Those days are numbered_."

"Well, I bloody hope they're numbered," James muttered. "We'll kick the bloody Titans into bloody next week. We'll make them bloody pay for their bloody mistakes!" His voice rose at the end, though not an _enthusiastic tone_, it was more angry, more… _passionate_. His pale face had turned a reddish tint. _He was mad_.

"You better believe they'll pay," Natalie said, standing up from her seat. "We're going to kill them so dead that they're… _dead_." She paused for a moment, shaking her head. "I really didn't think that one through too well, did I?"

I couldn't help but let a chuckle escape my lips, and soon, the entire room was filled with laughter. Everyone was smiling and giggling, not a care in the world…

The laughter soon died down, and everyone held grim expressions. They all looked at me expectantly, and I knew I had to say something. _Speech time for Jemma, yeah_. I briefly closed my eyes, then stood up. I took a shallow breath, _though I meant it to be a deep one—is that normal?—_then said, "Okay guys, I don't want to be cheesy here, but I see no other option, so here goes." I paused, allowing for some eye rollege. "We've certainly grown close as a group—no, a _family_. You guys are my family, and I hope you feel the same about me. Just remember, we'll see each other again in a week. It'll fly by like nothing. This will do us all some good, you know. Being apart will only make us stronger. We'll—"

"You're getting really cheesy there, Jem," Sarah said with a chuckle. "Sweet, but cheesy."

"Thank you, Sarah," I mumbled, a grin forming on my face. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, this isn't permanent. We'll be back together sooner than you can say—"

"Super cali fragil istic expi ali docious," Alexa said. "But we'll be gone longer than that. She just means it'll be quick."

My eyebrows creased. "Um, thanks Alexa. You're right, we'll be apart longer than that. I hope everyone else realized that." I looked around at the gang. Nearly everyone had smiles on their faces, and were trying to hold back a giggle.

"I guess we'd better go pack our things," Zac said quietly, standing up from the table. "Make sure you pack lightly. We don't know how much walking we'll have to do." He exited the room, followed by Jezabelle, Natalie, Chad, and Des.

The room was quiet for a while, before I said, "James, how far is the nearest town? You know, a _big_ town."

He looked up at me. "Why?"

"A car rental shop. We need to find a place to rent a car."

"Jemma love, there are very few places to rent cars in this day and age. And besides, who would rent a car to a bunch of _teenagers_?"

I frowned. He was right. Who, in their right mind, would rent a car to a bunch of kids? "Well then how are they going to travel?"

James smirked, a strand of dark hair falling into his eyes. "They're going to have to ride the rails."

I looked over at Alexa, sure that she would know if that was the way it was supposed to happen. She gave an eager nod, so I turned back to James. "I didn't think they sold tickets for train rides anymore."

"They don't," he said. "They're going to have to sneak on."

"And when do you suggest they do this?"

"Under the cover of nightfall," he whispered.

I looked out the window. The sun was about to dip below the horizon. "Soon, then," I said.

He nodded. "Yeah."

I closed my eye for a moment, and took a deep breath. _I was about to rip apart my family. Could I really go through with this?_

"It's going to be okay, Jemma," Sarah said, and I felt someone place an arm around my shoulder. I open my eye and saw Sarah standing beside me. "You said so yourself, we'll be back together in no time."

"You're right, it's going to be fine," I said, trying to convince myself. _Once we did meet back up, what would happen to Zac?_

"Alright, I'm going to go help Natalie pack. She's got way too much stuff," Sarah said, giving my shoulder a squeeze before walking out of the room.

"I'm going to go talk to Chad, okay Jemma?" Donnie said. I nodded and he also walked out of the room.

Alexa looked around. "I guess I'll go find something to occupy myself with." She smiled brightly and skipped through the doorway.

"And then there were two," I said, looking over at James.

He looked up at me and sighed. "Not that I don't like this idea of having Zac halfway across the country, but you have to realize that splitting up isn't going to stop the Fates, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

"Okay guys, there's an old, abandoned mall outside of San Francisco according to Alexa. That's where we'll meet up, alright. August eighteenth is the day," I said, staring grimly at the group in front of me. Half of them had bags on their backs. All of them held grim expressions.

_This is where we say our goodbyes, right?_ Des asked. I nodded, and everyone surged forward, enveloping me in the biggest hug I'd ever had. Once everyone backed off, Chad stepped forward.

"Oh gods I'm going to miss you," he said, ruffling my hair. He put on a brave face, blinking back the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"Be good, buddy," I said quietly, stepping forward and wrapping my arms around him. "You take good care of everyone, you hear?"

He pulled back. "Yeah, I hear."

"Good boy. And Des," I said, turning to the mute girl. Her dark hair hung straight and true, and her eyes titled ever so slightly. I could understand why Chad had fallen for her. She was an exotic beauty.

_Yes Jemma?_ she asked, a smile playing on her plump lips. _What can this exotic beauty do for you?_ She gave me a wink, and quickly embraced me.

"Take care of my hard-headed brother, alright?"

_I'm not making any promises,_ she said with a laugh. _I'll try to the best of my abilities, eh?_

_Good, and make sure the gang thinks with logic, okay?_ I projected my thoughts to her, knowing she'd pick up on them.

_That I can promise_, she said. _As long as I'm breathing, logic lives._

I gave her a nod, and made my way over to Natalie, who was saying her goodbyes to Alexa. The two blondes briefly hugged, then Alexa skipped away.

"Hey Nat," I said, offered my hand to her. She gave one look at my pale hand, and pushed it aside, giving me a warm, sisterly hug.

"You take care, Jemma," she said, pulling back and holding me at arm's length. "Be careful, and don't let any monsters get you down."

"I'll try not to," I mumbled, looking down at the ground.

She gave me a small grin and started to walk away. "Wait Natalie," I called.

She turned around, a thin eyebrow raised. "Yeah?"

I gave a small nod. "Your mom was right. We _are_ going to save the world."

She grinned and pushed a curl back from her face. "Thank you, Jemma. Thank you for everything." She gave me one last look, then walked away.

I looked around, squinting in the darkness for the snowy white hair. Sure enough, there she was, a short distance away, talking to Sarah. I made my way over to them.

"Sarah, mind if I had a word with Jezabelle?"

Sarah looked up, her hazel eyes misty. "Sure, yeah, go ahead. I was about to go say goodbye to Chad." She gave a small smile to Jezabelle, then scurried away.

Jezabelle, her back to me, said, "Do you need something?"

"Yes, I do actually," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And I'd much rather say it to your face than your back."

She snorted and turned, daintily removing my hand. "May I help you?"

I bit my lip, trying to decide what direction I wanted to steer this conversation in. "What is it you have against me?"

She smirked and rolled her pale eyes. "'Tis obvious, isn't it?"

"Uh… what?"

"You have something that I want, and I intend to get it. I get _everything _I want," she said, her eyes trailing to a red head several yards away.

"Zac? He—" I started to say, until I realized she had slipped off somewhere. _Great. Just great. Now I've got even more to worry about. Zeus knows what she's planning on doing with him…_

"Jemma…" a voice whispered, a voice I knew well. I turned around to face the blue eyed boy. "Could I—could I talk to you for a minute?"

I smiled, feeling tears well in the corners of my eye. "For you," I whispered, "anything."

He took my hand, and led me a short distance away from the crowd. He looked into my eyes, and brushed a stray hair from my face.

"Oh Zac," I started. "I don't know how this is ever going to work. I just don't—" I stopped, unable to speak. There was a reason for that, though, as I had another pair of lips on top of mine. After the initial shock, I closed my eye, and melted into the kiss. His lips were so soft, just like I had imagined so many times before…

Soon, he pulled away, biting his lip. I stood there, like an idiot, my mouth opened slightly in shock. Ever so slowly, a smile formed on my mouth, and a giggle escaped my lips. I laughed! What in Hades was _wrong _with me?

Zac frowned. "Did I… do something wrong?"

I continued laughing, my brain suddenly unable to take control of actions. Why was I bloody _laughing_? "I've been waiting _years_ for this kiss, and that's all you've got?" I asked, pulling him in close, and kissing him again.

Once we were both gasping for air, I stepped away, looking at him expectantly. I was pretty sure I had a big, goofy grin on my face, because Zac did too. All he could manage to say was, "Wow."

Once we had both gotten over the thrill, and I was able to hear over my heart beating, Zac said, "I never thought it'd be that good."

"What?" I asked. "Kissing?"

"Kissing _you_." He smirked.

I stepped closer, wrapping my arms around his waist. "I don't think I can leave you."

"I don't think I can leave you, either," he breathed, wrapping his arms gently around me. "I love you, Jemma. I love you so much."

My heart froze in my chest, and I sucked in a breath. _Did he just say what I think he did?_ "I love you, too. I always have." There goes my mouth, speaking before I had time to process what I was thinking. But know that I had thought about it, would I say anything different?

He gently stroked my hair. "The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. Maybe they always have been and always will be. Maybe we've lived a thousand lives before this one and in each of them we've found each other. And maybe each time, we've been forced apart for the same reasons."

I shook my head. "And whenever we meet again?"

"We'll be ready for what's to come," he said, placing his hands on my shoulders. He leaned in and kissed my forehead then took one of my hands. "Come on now, we need to get back."

"Right," I said, briefly glancing out of the corner of my eye. I thought I had seen something, and I was right.

"You two love doves have fun back there?" someone asked, someone with a velvety smooth, seductive voice. My eyebrows creased as I tried to see where James had been hiding.

"You can take off the hat now, Manson," Zac spat, his eyes scanning the darkness.

"Gladly," he said, suddenly appearing a few feet away from us, a black beanie in his hand.

"What's that?" I asked, eyeing the hat.

"It's my Helm of Darkness, love," he said, a grin on his face.

"He can blend into shadows, or in this case, the darkness," Zac said, his fist clenched.

"Indeed I can," James said, stowing the hat in his back pocket.

"What do you want?" Zac asked.

"Actually, at this present moment, nothing," he whispered, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Well, I have something I'd like to say to you," Zac said, taking a step towards James, whose eyes momentarily darted up, then back to Zac's.

"What?"

Zac shook his head, letting a sigh escape his lips. "Take good care of Jemma, okay?"

James nodded, and a silent agreement seemed to pass between the two of them. "You know I will."

"I want your word. I want you to swear you won't let anything happen to her."

James looked at me. His eyes seemed to hold a sadness so deep it was hard to believe it could be contained in a seventeen year old's body. He nodded his head. "I swear on the River Styx that nothing will happen to Jemma. I will protect her with my _life_." My eyes widened on the last part, as thunder boomed in the sky.

"Thank you," Zac said, his voice sincere. He held out a hand for James to shake, who did, hesitantly. "Thank you, James."

"Yeah," he muttered, then disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"At least I know you're in good hands," Zac whispered, a small smile on his face.

"Wish I could say the same about you," I said.

"What do you mean?"

I shook my head. "Just promise me you'll be wary of Jezabelle, alright?"

He frowned. "She's not so bad, you've just got to give her a chance."

"Promise me, Zac," I said again, my tone demanding.

He nodded his head. "Okay, I promise."

I gave him a smile, then trudged back to the group. Everyone was standing there, except for James. I wondered where he disappeared to…

"Okay, let's get this show on the road," Chad said. "And _before_ I bawl my eyes out, please."

"Alright, Chadie-boy," I said, giving him, and everyone else—excluding a certain white headed someone—one last hug.

"The tracks are just down the hill," Alexa said, pointing to her left. "Make sure no one sees you get on."

Zac, Natalie, Jezabelle, Chad, and Des nodded, and started down the hill. I felt a tear escape my eye as I tried to smile. Someone behind me rubbed my back, and I heard James say, "And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."

I nodded my head. Truer words couldn't have been spoken. In simpler terms, this _sucked_.

* * *

***facepalm* I quoted _The Notebook_. XD **

**Silly FFN won't let me spell out _super cali fragil istic expi ali docious_ as one word. That makes me sad. :'(**

**All you Jemma/Zac supporters, HAPPY? And all you Jemma/James supporters, don't worry. ;) As I continue to tell you all, it'll all work out in the end. She'll end up with the person she's supposed to. Now who that person is is the question. :D **

**~Jemma/Zac is winning by ten votes on the poll. :O**

**Now remember, check out my website and trailer!**

**Happy Easter, e'rybody. :) Love to all.**


	24. Anima Comedentis, Soul Eater

**As you know, _Through the Looking Glass_ was nominated for a Verita, and voting is going on right now. Please, if you like my story, go to my profile and click on the link to vote for it. Thank you so much. :) (_Update 7.14.11 - We won!)_**

**Oh, and a couple friends and I are co-writing a series of stories (yes, they're Percy Jackson) called _The Precarious Exploits of The Crows._ There's a link on my profile if you'd like to check it out (which I would appreciate!). **

**Kanae Valentine = Beta . . . Yesh. Thankies. ;D**

**Thank you all for sticking with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

"I guess we'd better get going now," I whispered, having just heard the _toot_ of the train departing. The train carrying away my best friend… my _more than a friend_? I was still in shock about the whole _kissing_ thing. Quite frankly, I was freaking out. _My first kiss…_ I shook my head and turned to face James, who held a solemn expression. He nodded his head and took off towards the bus. Alexa followed shortly thereafter, and Donnie and Sarah walked up beside me and each took a hand.

"We'll get through this, Jem," Sarah said, laying her head on my shoulder. "We always do."

"Yeah Jemma, we'll see them soon," Donnie said, gazing at the silhouette of the retreating train.

"I hope you're right," I muttered, feeling a tear escape my eye. We turned and slowly trudged towards the bus, our heads hanging low.

Once on the bus, we each parted ways, each heading into our separate bedrooms. I stood there, in front of the door, debating on what to do. I was in no condition to sleep, so that was out. I could call Chiron, since he had something he wanted to discuss. Honestly, though, I wasn't in the mood to hear more bad news, so he could wait. Or, I could have another chat with James as he was driving. Though, the last time that happened, I ended up in a cast with a foreign eye in my head. I smiled. There was something about James that made him incredibly easy to talk to. I could easily find myself pouring out my secrets—that's not a good thing, is it? I bit my lip, and opened the little dividing door to the driver's cab.

"Mind if I come in?" I whispered, poking my head through. James was sitting in the driver's seat, his head on the wheel. I saw his head briefly shake, and even though it was a _no_, I stepped inside, closing the door behind me.

"What?" he asked, his voice hoarse. It was muffled by his sleeve. His nose sniffled, and he said, "What do you want?"

I didn't say anything. I just sat there, thinking about what he said. I mean, I _really _thought about what he said. What _did_ I want? What did I _really_ want? "I don't know," I finally managed to said, edging closer to the darkly clad boy. I placed a hand on his back and slowly rubbed it. I could feel his thin frame shivering underneath the oversized coat he was wearing.

"Well I sure as hell don't know either," he mumbled, hiccupping.

"Oh James," I cooed, wrapping an arm around him. "It's going to be okay. It's all going to be okay."

He shook his head, and slowly rose from the steering wheel, exposing his face. His eyes were rimmed in red and his cheeks were streaked with tears. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his mouth was held in a scowl. "No, it's not going to be okay. It's not going to be okay for me," he whispered, his voice cracking at the end. His lip quivered, and he looked up at me, his big black eyes screaming at me in pain.

"What do you mean? Of course it'll be okay for you," I whispered, leaning my head on his shoulder. "It'll be fine."

He shook his head and hiccupped again. "No, it'll never be okay for me. Everyone I knew and loved are gone, _killed_—killed by the Titans. And I will be, too. I deserved to be dead." He trailed off at the end, his shadowy eyes suddenly seeing something different than the interior of the bus.

"What do you mean? You don't deserve to be killed! No one does." I said the last part quietly. _No one_ deserved to have their life taken away. I didn't feel that way for the sake of the person whose life was at stake, but rather the people who would be left once they were gone. It's hard loosing someone, and even harder living without them…

He turned and looked at me, blinking back a tear. "It's all my fault," he whispered, his eyes wide. "I'm the reason she's dead. I'm the reason the Titans know about us, know about the reincarnation of the gods. It'll be my fault when one of them gets hurt. Or worse, killed."

I sighed and looked out the window at the sky above. There weren't any stars out, so Krius must have been busy. Busy doing _what_, was the question.

"I just—it's going to be my fault whenever we fail this quest. This world will cease to exist, and—" I put a finger on his lips, and leaned forward. I lightly kissed his cheek, lingering for a moment before pulling away. I looked up at him, not sure what to expect. He had a thoughtful look on his face. "Is that all I'm going to get?" he asked, his lips forming into a small smile.

"For now," I whispered, looking out at the stars. There were so many of them. It was like people on the Earth. How were we ever going to find all twelve of the kids we need to find before times up? How do we even know they're all on this continent? Who's to say they're not spread out all over the place?

"You know," James said softly. "You've never told me about your granny. What was she like?" His lips pressed together in a gentle smile.

"I dunno," I mumbled, not really wanting to talk about my granny. Every time I thought about that sweet old lady, _that day_ replayed in my mind. No matter how hard I tried to forget… "She was old."

"Come on Jemmy, give me something. Anything. Come on."

"Jemmy?" I asked, my voice small. _Jemmy? That's what granny called me sometimes_…

The dark headed boy slowly nodded his head. "That's what she used to call you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. She'd pick me up and spin me through the air. _Jemmy! Jemmy!_ She'd yell. _You're flying! You're flying_!"I felt tears gather in my eyes as I sniffled my nose. "Whenever I told her that I wasn't flying, she always said that nothing, not even flying, was impossible." My voice cracked at the end and I looked away.

James gingerly placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "She's right, you know. _Nothing is impossible_."

"This quest is impossible," I said sharply. "There's no way we can do this. We don't have enough _time_ to find all the _children of the once great twelve_. And even if we did find everyone, what _mysteries _are we supposed to discover from _another time_? What _crime_ are we _ridding this world of_? Only the _lost ones_ can help us, but what good have they done so far? I feel like we're completely alone going into this mess. Just how many people are going to _die_, James? How many?" My voice started rising, my hands balled into fists. I felt tears dancing, verging on falling. I blinked them back. "Once this is all over with, only _one_ of us is going to survive? How can I live with myself, knowing that only _one _of us is going to make it? What if I'm the only one who survives? How would I… how _could_ I make it without everyone?" Hot tears erupted from my eyes, and this time I didn't even try to stop them. "There's no hope anymore. We're going to fail."

James sighed. "There's always hope," he said, placing a hand on my cheeks. He pulled my head around so I was facing him. "Hope is still out there, I can feel it."

I wiped a tear that was running down my face. "How can you feel it? I don't feel it."

He let a small chuckle escape his lips. "Have you ever heard the story about Pandora, love?" I shook my head _no_, so he continued. "Well, a _long_ time ago, there was a young lady by the name of Pandora. She was a very curious lass, mind you. She was given a gift from the gods. It—"

"What was it?"

"Jemma," James said, rolling his eyes. "Please let me finish." I mumbled an apology. "You know, you're a lot like she was, now that I think about it. You're both _very_ curious girls." He smiled. "As I was saying, she was given a very important gift by the gods, and she was not to open it under _any _circumstances."

"I would have opened it."

"I don't doubt it, Jemma, I don't doubt it," James muttered, and irritated tone to this voice. "Pandora couldn't resist the curiosity either. She opened it. You know was inside?"

"I'm sure you're going to tell me."

He chuckled. "All the evils of the world escaped. Lies, betrayal, pain—"

"What does all this have to do with hope?" I asked. "Sounds more like the total _opposite_ of hope."

"One thing was left inside the pithos, and I'm sure you can guess what that was." He paused and I nodded. "_Hope_."

"And next you're going to tell me that that jar is still out there somewhere, just waiting to be found, right?"

James suppressed a laugh. "Yes, I think it's still out there. Surely you can feel it. It's… _reassuring_ to know that we still have a chance."

I raised a brow. "So you're going to suggest that we find this jar of hope, right?"

He shook his head. "Hope will find us." He smiled. "After all, hope survives best at the hearth, right?"

I opened my mouth to say something as Alexa burst through the door, her eyes wide. "We need to go. Now."

"Wait. What? Why—"

"Go! Hurry! They're coming!" She leapt forward between the two of us and turned the key in the ignition. The bus rumbled to life. "I'm not kidding. Come on, we _have_ to _go_. As in _right now_."

"I don't… _understand_," James muttered, eyeing the blonde haired girl. He crossed his arms.

Alexa's nose crinkled. "You need to drive. Go, and I'll explain as we're distancing ourselves from here!" She placed a hand on the stick shift and attempted to move it into drive.

"You can't do that until I put on the brake," James whispered. He shooed her hand aside and placed the bus into drive. The bus lurched forward and I could have sworn I heard the tires squall. He flipped the headlights on and the decrepit road flooded with light, the trees outside blurring by as we picked up speed.

"Now tell us what's going on!" I shouted, fumbling with my seat belt.

I glanced over at James, who was keeping an eye on the mirror to see behind the bus. His eyes widened. "Glowing eyes are never a good thing."

I grimaced and titled my head to look out at the passenger mirror. Far back, I could just make out a pair of glowing yellow eyes. "Tell us now what's chasing us!"

"Anima Comedentis," she whispered grimly. She pronounced it like _uh-nee-muh com-a-dean-tees_. "Another type of monster created by Kronos. The name roughly translates to _soul eater_."

I nearly choked. "_Soul eater_? You've got to be kidding." I glanced back out at the mirror. Another set of eyes had joined the first pair.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say they're not here to steal our peanut butter, right?" James asked.

"Ri said they're impossible to beat. There's nothing to them—they're like ghosts, they have no substance. Their signature move is the osculum mortis, the—"

"Kiss of death," James whispered.

"How did you know—"

"I've seen it up close," he said coldly.

_I wonder… could that be how Megan died?_

"Then you know that once they start, there's no way to stop them. You can only outrun them." Alexa leaned over me to look out at the mirror. I joined her gaze and gulped. _One… two… three… four… five_… Five pairs of glowing yellow eyes were approaching in no time flat.

"There's one for each of us," I muttered, closing my eye.

"No doubt sent by the Titan Lord himself," Alexa murmured.

I took a deep breath, mumbled something about being right back, and lifted the eye patch from my left eye, opening it.

_I wasn't in my body. It was like I was seeing through someone else's eyes, though I wasn't inside their body. I looked around, fairly certain I was in the same room I had been in previously._

_Large room? Check._

_Hot and humid? Check._

_Omniscient feeling? Check._

_Yes, it was most definitely the same room. I could sense two others in the room—two others whom had both been here before. _

"_My children are rising," the deep, cold voice whispered. His voice was like a sword scraping across a rock, and it sent a chill down my spine. "I can feel it. And I know you have had a direct role in this."_

_The other voice laughed—it was higher than the other, though still male, and seemed to warm the room somewhat. "I'm surprised it has taken this long for you to figure out, brother."_

"_So you admit it?"_

"_What have I got to lose? Soon, none of us will be left. They will be triumphant." _

"_What makes you so sure?"_

_He laughed once again. "I trained one of the heroes myself. Every secret we have, they know."_

"_YOU DID WHAT?"_

_The softer voice continued laughing, and the room was flooded with an extremely bright white light._

I snapped my eyes closed and took in breaths in ragged gulps, pulling the eye patch back down over my left eye.

"What did you see?" Alexa asked. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I slowly opened my right eye and looked at Alexa. There was no doubt in my mind as I said, "You were the hero that they were talking about that he trained. It's you! No wonder you know all about _everything_."

"Hold the phone, Jemma. _Who_ was talking? _Who_ trained Alexa?" James asked, briefly taking his eyes off the road to look at me.

"I'm right, aren't I?" I asked. Alexa looked away, her face shadowy. Her brows were furrowed and she was biting her lip. Ever so slowly, she shook her head.

"I—I can't tell you," she whispered. "I swore on the River Styx I wouldn't breathe a word about Ri—" She stopped herself from saying anymore by humming a low, slow tune.

_That means I'm right_, I said to myself. _If she really was trained by this Ri, then she truly would know everything we would ever need to know. But just who is Ri… I have my suspicions. I'm pretty sure that Ri is—_

"What are we going to do? This old bus can't keep going forever. Besides, the Anima Comedentis won't stop until they get their victim," James said quietly, eyeing the mirror once again. I looked out the mirror on my side as well. The five pairs of eyes were still following us, and if I wasn't mistaken, they were gaining on us.

_Okay now, let's think… if the Anima Comedentis suck the life right out of someone… what if they sucked the _death_ right out of someone?_ "Two negatives make a positive, right?" I asked.

"When multiplying and dividing, yes."

"But not when adding—"

"What if you, James, shot a ball of death—"

"A _ball of death_?"

"Yeah, like… what if you fed them what they _are_, instead of what they want. Maybe if the dark matter connects with their dark matter—"

"The energy built up could cause an explosion, maybe destroying them?" Alexa asked, her eyes shining wide with possibilities. "It _might _work."

"I've never tried something like that," James muttered, glancing down at his hands.

Alexa did something to the effect of hoping on James' lap. She took the wheel. "On the count of three, move your foot off of the pedal, okay? One, two three—" The bus groaned and slowed down before speeding back up. James slid out from under Alexa, gritting his teeth.

"Come on, Jem, let's go. I'm going to need all the help I can get," he mumbled, opening the door. Donnie and Sarah stumbled forward, sheepish expressions on their faces.

"What are you guys—" I started to say.

"We want to help," Sarah said, removing the headband from her head.

"Yeah, whatever you need, we'll do it," Donnie said with a smile, clutching his toy car in his hand.

"Donnie, I don't want you getting hurt, and Sarah, you don't even have a weapon—"

"Yeah I do!" Sarah shouted, straightening the headband in her hand out. She pulled on the ends and it began to lengthen until it formed into a sort of septre with a flame atop. It was intricately carved with images of crops and— "See?"

"I don't care about your weapons. James, you _need_ to get on top of the roof and stop the Anima Comedentis," Alexa yelled, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Her face had paled and she kept glancing out at the mirror.

I nodded and followed James out of the tiny compartment of a room. "Sarah, Donnie, stay with Alexa, okay?" I said over my shoulder as James grabbed a small remote from his pocket. He stood in the middle of the room and pressed a button. A small area opened in the ceiling, and a blast of air swept from it. A rope ladder dropped from the roof.

James stepped up to the ladder and started to climb. "You know, if this really does work, then it means I could have saved _her,_ but I didn't…" I thought about saying something, but didn't. What he said confirmed my suspicions, though—Megan had died because of the Anima Comedentis. James gave me a solemn look, then climbed up the final rung and onto the roof of the bus.

Something within urged me to follow him. _It's too dangerous,_ I told myself. _Especially with the cast occupying my entire upper body._ Despite the risks, I felt myself reach forward towards the rope ladder and started climbing towards the top.

The wind blew against my face as my head emerged from the tiny door. I edged my way onto the roof, balancing myself on my knees. I didn't dare rise to my feet—I would have blown off.

A few feet away, James was kneeling on one knee, his eyes closed, his hands outstretched. The Anima Comedentis were very close now—close enough to make out their bodies in the near darkness. The sun had just peeked over the horizon, casting an eerie shadow on everything. At least, I hoped it was the sun casting the shadows on the flying figures. They appeared to be wearing cloaks made of darkness were deathly quiet. Their faces had no features, only two sockets where yellow orbs glowed within. They reminded me of ghosts from an old TV show Granny and I used to watch. What was it called… Dooby Scoo?

The lead ghoul make an awful screeching sound and launched itself forward with a burst of speed—straight towards me. My eyes widened. "James, death ball orb would be great," I whispered. My body wouldn't move—I was paralyzed with fear.

A tiny, glowing black ball formed between James' palms, arcing with energy. As he pulled his hands apart, the ball grew, until it was the size of a basketball. "I think I can just—" He pulled the ball back, like he were about to make a chest pass, and threw it at the Anima Comedentis. The ball went sailing through the air, contacting with the monster in the face. Still making screeching noises, the beast seemed to suck up the ball of energy, flying towards me all the same, its four buddies hot in pursuit.

"It didn't work…" I mumbled, my hand reaching up to my teardrop earring. I pulled it out and tossed it into the air, catching the Trident in my right hand. "James, it—" My words caught in my throat. The Anima Comedentis that had swallowed the ball James had thrown was starting to swell. It kept enlarging, until… _pop!_ It exploded into a cloud of dust. The four behind it weren't even phased—they approached us, forming a circle around the two of us. The wind seemed to ignore all laws established about it, allowing the ghouls to hover over the speeding bus.

"James, hurry with another ball!" I shouted, crawling closer to the dark clad boy. He had a fierce look of concentration, his pale face beaded with sweat. This must be using a lot of energy. Another ball formed inside his palms, though it was smaller than the first. He launched it at the nearest Anima Comedentis, then began forming another ball.

At the destruction of the second monster, the remaining three suddenly dove down, straight towards the two of us. A scream escaped my lips as I raised my Trident, willing a wall of water to form in front of us. The Anima Comedentis glided through it like air. I tried swatting one away, but my Trident went straight through it. A screeching sounded within it, and a pair of crude lips unfurled from within the folds of its shadowy cloak. Its lips opened, and suddenly, I felt like my life force was slipping away. I was completely immobile—I felt utterly hopeless. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing—to let this creature kill me. Then I would have nothing to worry about. No more quests or saving the world…

"Hey, you big, overgrown lout! Leave my sister alone!" I vaguely heard Sarah shout. I felt myself slipping farther and farther into the darkness, until finally… I let it take me.

* * *

**Please review and don't forget to go to my profile and vote for _Through the Looking Glass_!**


	25. Scars are Souvenirs You Never Lose

**'Ello everyone! You know what today is? The day _Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows: Part Two_ comes out! :DD It also just happens to be my two year anniversary on FFN. Yippy yay and whatnot. ;)**

**I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you who voted for _Through the Looking Glass._ Because of your generous support, Mama brought home a Verita! I promise to never address myself as _Mama_ again. XD Seriously though, thank you so much.**

**Oh, and if you find yourself in need of a refresher on _Through the Looking Glass_, but don't want to reread the entire thing, you can go to my website and look at the _Chapter Overviews_. It's pretty handy. :D**

**Apollo is awesome - You would be correct in your association of the Anima Comedentis = Dementors from HP. It was my shoutout to the bombtastic book series!**

**Thanks Kanae Valentine for beta-ing. ^_^**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

_"The time has come, my family," a loud, booming voice said. Thunder shook the walls at the sound and a streak of lighting flashed outside the window. A cool draft of air swept through the room. My body felt heavy; I couldn't lift my arms or turn my head. In fact, I couldn't even move my eyes from the area they were focused on. That fact didn't seem to pose much of a problem as I gazed upon what was in front of me. A glowing orb—a luminescent ball of ever changing colors of sand—hovered in the middle of the room, casting a nearly nonexistent light upon the faces gazing down at it. The polychromatic sphere drifted around slowly, peacefully, yet, something about it made me uneasy._

_I felt my hand tighten around a shaft. Unaware of my actions, my eyes fell upon a pale blue three pronged pitch fork in my hand—my Trident. "Brother," a deep voice began, seemingly coming from myself. "This is very dangerous. Are you sure—"_

"_It must be done," a voice belonging to a female said. Her voice was cold, logical. "It has already been kept together for too long. The assumed damage would be much higher should we leave it intact." My head snapped in the direction of the voice. A pale woman with raven black hair stood across from me. Her eyes were startling grey. An owl sat atop her shoulder. _

"_She is right," the woman standing beside me whispered. Her tanned hands were clutching a bow, turning her knuckles white. A long, auburn braid fell down her back. In truth, she wasn't a woman at all—she didn't look a day over thirteen. "We have found what we seek, and we must make haste. My brother has had many premonitions about the future, all of which inevitably end the same way." She paused, allowing a voice similar to hers, though deeper, more masculine, to continue._

"_Darkness. All I see is darkness," the man next to the girl muttered. He had the same deeply tanned skin, though his hair was golden blonde, his eyes like honey. He too, clutched a bow tightly in his hand. The bow looked extremely familiar—it looked like Alexa's. _

"_We've hardly had a moment's rest since the demise of our father," a woman with wheat colored hair moaned, placing a hand on her forehead. Her eyes seemed to constantly change colors—shifting from golden, to brown, to green—and reminded me of Sarah's. "Surely this doesn't require our attention so soon—"_

"_Sister," the same, booming voice from earlier began. It was coming from the man to the other side of me. The first thing I noticed was his eyes—shockingly blue. A pain went through my chest at the sight—_Zac, _was all my shattered heart could think of_._ He had dark, salt and pepper hair and a full beard. He held a bronze shaft of lightning at his side. "Our father had every intention of destroying our world with the very object that hovers in front of you. We must destroy this. We _all_ must destroy this."_

_Around the omniscient glow of the sands, the heads of ten individuals slowly nodded their heads. I found myself joining in with affirmation, unable to control my actions. _

"_I fear we will not be able to bring upon absolute destruction of the sands," the black haired woman said, her gaze grim. The way she held herself—Des had the same cold, proud look about her._

"_What do you mean? Of course we can destroy this! Nothing can withstand the power of the Twelve Olym—" a muscular man standing beside the owl lady started to say, before being cut off. His eyes reminded me of Chad's—the same sort of fire seemed to burn within._

"_Even _we_ have our limits, brother," the dark haired woman whispered, a smirk of irony on her face. _

"_And what do you suggest we do?" a blonde headed man asked. He had the build of a jogger, with sandy blonde hair and mischievous eyes. He gripped a weapon I recognized immediately—Donnie's Cadeceus. It was his alright—right down to the two snakes slithering around the shaft. _

"_We're going to have to split it apart, right?" a beautiful, blonde haired woman said. She looked pretty, like it was effortless—she had a natural glow, one that reminded me of Nat. Eleven heads, mine included, turned to face the young lady, surprised expressions on their faces. She frowned. "Is that not what we're doing?"_

_The grey eyed woman let a laugh escape her lips, though her face bore no sign of humor. "That is exactly what we are doing, Aphrodite. Thank you." She then turned her attention to the bearded man—the one who's eyes reminded me of Zac. "Father, on your mark, we must combine our powers, straight to the sands. The combination of our powers should separate the sands. We must act quickly, though. I feel the sands are growing restless."_

_He nodded and raised the lightning bolt into the air. I felt my arm slowly raise the Trident into the air alongside his. One by one around the circle, each of the ten others raised their weapons. Power arched through the air as it began to light up. "Channel your energy," he said firmly. "Allow it to flow. And then—" He closed his eyes and leaned his head back; I felt myself do the same thing. The power coursed through my body—I commanded the power to my Trident. Suddenly, he yelled, "NOW!" The power shot out of the Trident, a streak of blue light, straight towards the orb of sand, joining eleven other trails of power, each a distinct color. The room lit up in a blinding light and—_

My eyes snapped open, and I quickly closed them—the sights and sounds of the two views I could now see—_thanks Tarrant_— overwhelming me. "Sweet mother Rhea," I muttered, raising my hands to my face. _Where's my eye patch? _I wondered, feeling the bare area over my eye, though I don't suppose it's really _my_ eye…

"I feel like I've been hit by a truck," I said loudly. Not like it mattered, there was no one to hear me. I slowly opened _my_ eye, being careful not to open the eye that wasn't _mine_. I was staring up at a ceiling—a ceiling I knew well—the ceiling in my room. _That's always a good sign_. I slowly sat up, keeping my eye shut until the wave of nausea washed over me. The effort was surprisingly easy—easier than it should have been with the cast on my upper body. I looked down at my midsection; I was wearing a teal tee shirt—teal, as in, _not grey_. A picture of a cartoon whale was below the words _Katrina and the Waves. _I had never worn anything but grey my entire life, as it was forbidden by The Rules. The Rules stated that society as a whole should blend in. By doing this, we were all equal, and not bound by social status. I cursed under my breath. They really did _brainwash _us.

There was no way my cast was hidden underneath the shirt. But why did I not have it on? I gently pressed on my ribs. "Gah!" Okay, so they were still sore, but not unbearable. I laid a hand on my chest. I didn't dare press down; I only wanted to feel my heartbeat.

_Thump._

_Thump._

_Thump._

Without warning, it skipped a beat, then beat double the speed for a moment, before regaining the same natural speed once again. _Great, irregular heartbeats. Pair that with my difficulty breathing sometimes and the fact that I had a chest injury… lovely._ I tried to think back to the health class I had taken last year, and a list of symptoms I had to watch for. As long as I didn't start coughing up blood, I should be fine. At least, I _think_.

_What time is it?_ I turned my head towards the window in my room. Even though the curtain was down, sunlight still shone through, casting eerie shadows across everything in the room. It was probably early morning, if I had to guess. The little fountain I still had to investigate was gurgling peacefully to itself. Sitting next to it was someone I had not expected to see for a _long_ time.

"Z—Zac?" I managed to choke. _Okay, that settles it. I'm dead. There's no way Zac could possibly be here right now. That meant he was dead, too. Oh, I hope he died peacefully. I must have been killed by that Anima Comedentis. Huh, it didn't hurt—dying. _

Zac giggled—I mean, he really _giggled_. It was a high pitched sort of sound I had never, _ever_ heard him use before. His maroon eyes crinkled.

_Wait… maroon?_

"Uh, what's going—" I started to say before I trailed off. Zac started to morph—his face became longer, his nose more pointy. His hair lengthened and darkened, until it was black. A lip and eyebrow piercing popped up on his face. Suddenly, I wasn't looking at Zac—I was looking at James. Only, it _wasn't_ James—the eyes were still maroon.

"What the he—"

James began to morph, too. His face began to round, his lips plumping a bit. His hair lengthened and bangs grew down nearly past his eyes. Before I knew it, James wasn't James anymore. James wasn't even a _he_ anymore.

A pale skinned girl with long, jet black hair sat in front of me, a small smirk on her face. She wore an oversized aviator's jacket, leather fingerless gloves—they reminded me of Jezabelle's—some black jeans, and a pair of ratty high top sneakers that looked like the kind James and I had. A silver locket with a butterfly hung around her neck. Her _maroon_ eyes were lined darkly with kohl. I eyed her apprehensively.

"Hello," she said, crossing her arms. "Your eye patch is on the bedside table."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the driftwood table beside my bed. Sure enough, the black skull eye patch was lying there, as was my water powered lantern. I hesitantly reached forward and picked up the patch, sliding it over my head.

"Who _are _you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Your sweetest dreams, your worst nightmares… take your pick."

I frowned. "Uh, right. _Who are you?_ And how did you morph into Zac and James? Is this what you really look like? Oh, and why are you in _my _room?"

"Whoa, whoa," she said, raising her hands into the air. "I didn't know we were playing twenty questions."

"Huh? I only asked you four questions. I don't—"

She shook her head. "Forget it. Just a joke, just a joke." There was a slight pause. "I'm—I'm Abby, Abby Night. Pleasure to finally meet you, Jemma." She held out a hand for me to shake. There was a white ring with a blackbird painted on it on one of her fingers. It seemed to put off its own little aura, like there was more than meets the eye with it. "Hey, I don't bite," she muttered, pulling her hand back.

I blushed. "Sorry."

She took the ring off and began twirling it in her hands. "S'okay. Next question?"

_Abby is… unusual. She puts off this 'tough' vibe, but it's like she's hiding something—like she's scared. _"How did you morph—"

"Oh, right, well, the god of dreams currently resides inside of me," she said coolly. I was about to ask who that was, when she answered. "Morpheus. He's one of the minor gods that's practically ignored by history."

I managed an, "oh."

"Next question."

"Uh, is this really what you look like? I mean, you're not just morphed into some other person, are you?"

A bitter expression crossed her face as she smashed her ring flat between her fingers. I thought about asking why she did that, when she pulled on the flattened ring. Suddenly, it lengthened, forming a dagger about ten inches long. It gleamed wickedly in the shadows.

My hand instinctively rose to my ear, should I need my Trident. The girl—Abby—started cleaning under her fingernails with the dagger. She sighed, then said, "This is me. At least, I think it is. I really don't remember what I look like anymore. I've been so many people—it's hard to remember who I am anymore."

"So you can just look like anyone you want to, anytime?"

She pursed her lips. "Yes and no."

"Well, which is it?"

"Next question."

_I'm never going to get anything out of her. She's got a thick wall built up around her. _"Why are you in my room? Why are you even here _at all_?"

"It was my turn to sit with you," she said, looking back down at her fingernails. "I kinda, um, snuck onto this bus whenever you guys took a pit stop. It was like fate brought me here, really. I mean, what are the odds of me getting on a bus full of others just like me? Finally, I'm not alon—" She stopped herself.

'_Finally, I'm not alone?' Was that what she was about to say? Just how long had she been alone? _I heard Abby clear her throat as she stood up. "I'm uh… I'd better go tell someone you're awake. You'll be okay by yourself, won't you? What am I saying? Of _course_ you'll be okay by yourself. You're older than I am, surely you can manage—" She turned bright red. "I'm sorry, I'm just—I'm gonna go now." She hastily exited the room.

_Now Jemma, whatcha gonna do? _I asked myself, smirking. _Stay in your room or go outside and find out some answers? _I slid out of bed and shuffled to my dresser, where a mirror was. I hesitantly looked into it—at myself. The four ugly gashes ran down my face, disappearing underneath one side of the eye patch and reappearing at out the other. My short hair had been neatly combed, as if someone had kept up my appearance while I had been out of it. _Probably Sarah, _I thought. I looked down to see what pants I had on—yes, I know, it's quite sad that I didn't even have the slightest idea as to what pants I wore—a pair of faded denim knee shorts. All these colors would take some getting used to. My teal shirt brought out the color in my eyes—correction, _eye_. That would _also_ take getting used to. I shook my head and sauntered out the door.

I was about to head towards the living area, whenever I spied a door slightly ajar down the hall. Of course, me being my curious self, had to investigate. A silver plate on the door read _Sarah's Room_. A quiet, weeping sounded from inside. There was no hesitation as I opened the door.

I was hit with an explosion of color—the walls were decorated with an array of painted flowers that seemed to pop out of the walls, almost as though they were _alive_. The floor looked suspiciously like _real _grass. The room contained the same furniture mine did, only it was made out of a wicker material, and had potted plants I had never seen before sitting everywhere. With each breath I inhaled, an intoxicating floral sent filled my lungs. I spied Sarah lying on her bed, curled up in ball, whimpering.

"Sarah?" I asked quietly, pulling the door closed behind me as I sat down on the bed beside her. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I—train—blood…" A shiver ran through her body and a new round of sobbing started up.

"What train, sweetie?" I asked, rubbing her back. I could feel her muscles contraction as raking sobs escaped her throat. Her breaths were short and ragged; each time she tried to breathe in, she'd hiccup then cough. Her tanned face was contorted in pain and her eyes were squeezed shut.

"My—my… fault," she managed to spit out, after several tries. With each word, a frenzy of coughing started, followed by a round of rapid breaths.

_What in world could have bothered Sarah this much? _I asked myself. _I had never seen her like this—she was in pain, both physically and mentally. _"Calm down," I cooed. "I'm here. You're okay, it's okay." I pulled her hair back from her face and ran a hand through it. "Shh…"

"I… and Jeremy…" she whispered, burrowing her face deeper into her pillow.

_Jeremy? Did she say Jeremy? Her little brother's name was Jeremy,_ I remembered. _He had died in an accident before Sarah came to the "home". A… _train _accident_. _I never could get anything else out of Sarah about it, though. Every time I asked her about her brother, she'd completely shut down. _

"What about Jeremy, honey?" I asked, rubbing her shoulder.

Another convulsing shiver ran through her body. "I—I tr-tri-tried," she stuttered. "But…" She violently shook her head, gritting her teeth. "Too… slow." She had her eyes shut tight, and was no doubt reliving something—something that she had kept hidden, deep within. "It came—it came…" Another set of raking sobs echoed through the room. "Out of… _nowhere_."

Her breathing quicken again as she pushed her head harder into her pillow. I could hear the fabric obstructing her airflow as her body heaved up and down. She kept murmuring into the pillow, too low for me to hear.

I slowly lay down beside her, putting my arm on her shoulder. Her breathing slowed. With each wheeze, she moaned, "Why?" Her thin frame shook violently again, but this time she tried to stop the sobs. Her whole body shook each time as she attempted to put an end to the cries.

She slowly raised her head from her pillow, shallow, shaky breathes leaving her mouth. Her hazel eyes opened and I thought she was looking at me, but rather—at a random point. Her freckled face was streaked in tears, her mouth held in a grimace. "And then…" she said, followed by a string of coughs. Her face twisted.

Suddenly, her breathing stabilized and her face dropped all emotion. Her eyes still held that glazed look as she whispered, "_gone_." Then her eyes closed and she didn't say another word.

I lay there, matching my breathing with her own, allowing the silence to carry on through the entire room, filling every nook and cranny with nothingness.

Finally, Sarah sighed, opening her eyes. She gave me a small smile. "I'm—I'm sorry you had to see me like that," she whispered.

I shook my head. "We're sisters, and sisters are supposed to comfort each other like this. It's primeval instinct."

"I just…" She took a deep breath, and for a moment, I thought she was about to start crying again. But she didn't. She held herself together. "I don't like feeling all weak and vulnerable."

"You don't have to feel that way, though," I said. "You can tell me anything. I'll listen. No judging or anything—I'll be a giant ear."

A small chuckled escaped her lips. "Jemma, the giant ear. Lovely mental image, thanks."

I winked, which was really no different than blinking, what with my one eye and all. "I winked, just so you know."

She cracked a grin, though it faltered.

"I am very serious, Sare—you talk, I'll listen."

She bit her lip. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

I rolled my eye, which again, probably didn't have the same effect. "Let's see what else I shouldn't believe yet I do—well, Poseidon is inside of my me, sharing my body, I can control water, I have an earring that turns into a Trident, I have a mirror that connects our world with a completely different one, we—"

"Okay, I get it," she said, placing her arm under her head the way I had mine. "But you don't want to hear my tale anyway."

"Why not?"

She shook her head. "It just—I just…"

"It's not that I wouldn't want to hear it—it's that you won't _tell me_," I said quietly, knowing full and well that my words would guilt her into whatever I wanted. _When did I become so devious?_

She sighed and rose up into a sitting position, crossing her legs. I also rose up and leaned against her headboard. Sarah opened her mouth to speak, and the words came out in a flurry. "I went to sleep like normal, and I had a weird dream. Only, it wasn't a _dream_. It was…" I smiled and her eyes widened. "I knew you didn't want to hear this!"

"Oh, no!" I quickly said. "Not that at all. It's just, I think I know what you're about to tell me, now that I think about it. You were in a place you felt most at home, right? And a person you held close to heart was there."

She frowned. "How did you—"

"The same thing happened to me," I whispered, shivering. _I watched myself die,_ I silently added.

"Oh," she muttered. "Well, I was standing in the greenhouse my mom and dad used to work in. They grew food—all kinds of food there. You should have seen it—it was amazing. Rows and rows of plants… Kronos unfroze time all around the area so the plants could grow. It was always so warm and cozy…" She trailed off.

"Sounds nice," I said, trying to imagine a place where things grew. Sure, I'd seen pictures of the greenhouses at school, but nothing could compare to the real thing.

"It was," she said. "And my dad—he was there. Only, his voice was higher. I don't guess it was _really _my dad—"

"It was Demeter, right?"

"Yeah, Demeter. She talked to me for a little bit, and then the scene shifted. Suddenly, I was back _there_." She shivered.

"Sarah, if you don't really want to, you don't have—"

"Yes, I do. I need to tell someone. And you have a right to know." She recomposed herself, then continued. "She took us to place Jeremy and I used to play all the time. I don't know why we ever played _there_, though. It was dangerous."

"Somewhere near a train?" I guessed.

"Train tracks," she said. "Near a corner, of all places! We always played there—it wasn't very far from the greenhouse. My parents would work while we played." She paused and wiped a tear from her eye. "That day, we decided to play tag. We were being careless, and Jeremy twisted his ankle on a railroad tie. He fell and wouldn't get up. I didn't know what to do, so I decided I would go get my dad. He'd know how to get Jeremy up. He always did."

She swallowed and continued. "I started walking back to the greenhouse, and then I heard the train's whistle. I panicked. I started yelling at Jeremy to get up and move, but he wouldn't listen. Then the train came around the corner."

A hiccup escaped her lips and a tear ran down her face. "I—I tried to tackle Jeremy out of the way, but I wasn't that much bigger than him. I fell on top of him, and the train rolled over us."

She stopped, her eyes seeing something other than the flowery room. "Gods Jemma, there's some things in this world no one should have to see. And to have to relive them…"

I placed my hand on her back and rubbed it again.

"There's a reason why you've never seen above my knees," she whispered.

I frowned. I mean, we were roommates back at the "home". You're bound to catch one another without their pants. I know, it sounds awkward, but I'm serious. But I'd never seen Sarah without anything covering her legs.

Hesitantly, she rolled the dark wash capris she had on, one leg, then the other, up to her knees. She turned to look at me. Fear shown in her eyes. "Jemma, I've _never_ shown _anyone_ what I'm about to show you. You have to _promise _not to—"

"Sarah, I would never do anything you didn't want me to."

She took a deep breath, then rolled her pants up further—until they were up at the crease of her legs. I tried not to stare, but I couldn't help it. Starting at the crease of one leg, angling sharply down to the knee of her other leg, were two wide, reddish brownish gashes—like scabs, scabs that never healed. In a way, they reminded me of the scars on my face.

"That's where the train rolled over me," she said, running her fingers along the red lines. The skin seemed to indent around them.

"What do you mean, _that's where the train rolled over me?_"

"The way I landed on Jeremy, I pushed his arm over the rail, his _head_… His feet stuck out of the other end. I was lucky. I landed diagonal. My legs stuck out, but that was all."

"Oh gods, Sarah, I—"

"You know how they always say time seems to slow down when you're _dying?_ Well, they're liars. It was all over so quick." She closed her eyes. "I didn't feel a thing. Just a quick pinch. It was dark under the train. Once it was gone, and the sun was back, I didn't realize what had happened. I sat up, and looked down at my legs, because I couldn't feel them." She shook her head. "It was so _sick_. I couldn't figure out why my legs were gone. I remember trying to look for them, because I was worried Mommy would be mad if I lost them. I mean, how could thoughts like that have been running through my mind, whenever my little brother was lying beside me—dead."

She shivered and ran a hand over her legs again. "I looked over at Jeremy and—" Her voice faltered. "I—I can't. Not this."

I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Sarah. "How did you keep this bottled up for so long? Oh gods, Sarah. You're so brave. So brave…"

She pulled away from my hug, which really shocked me. Sarah never refused a hug.

"Brave enough to kill my own brother," she spat. "The ambulance came, Jeremy was pronounced dead at the scene, and they told my parents I wouldn't make it more than ten minutes. Demeter showed up, and my parents agreed to save me. She took over, and a _medical miracle_ happened, according to the paramedics. My legs reattached themselves, the bleeding stopped, I was in better health than I was before the accident. All that was left were these scars, always there to remind me of what I did—how I killed Jeremy."

"It wasn't your fault," I whispered, taking her hand.

"How is it not? _I_ pushed him, and yet _I'm _the one who's still here."

"You were trying to save him! _You_ nearly _died_ trying to save him. You're a hero, not a killer."

She shook her head. "You can think whatever you want. Scars always tell the truth. Scars are souvenirs you never lose."

I didn't know what to say. She had lived with this for three years, she had gone through something no one should ever have to go through, and she was _ten_ when it happened. She was Donnie's age when she watched her brother die!

"Jemma, I—I think I need some time alone, to think, you know?" She motioned towards the door.

"Yeah, okay," I muttered, taking my cue to leave.

I was about to exit the door, when I heard her say, "Thanks Jemma. For being there. For _always _being there."

I smiled at the girl sitting on the bed, the girl who had seen so much, and yet hid it all from the world. On the outside, she looked as happy as could be, but on the inside, she was a broken little girl. Every time someone needed cheering up, she was there, and yet she had _this _buried. It was amazing how you could know a person for so long, yet know so little about them.

"It's what I'm here for. I'm Jemma the giant ear, remember?"

She smiled, and at that moment, I knew everything would be okay. She had that ability, to make everything okay again. I took one last look and stepped out, leaving Sarah to wallow in her thoughts.

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter. I wanted to add some depth to Sarah's character. I'm hoping to eventually reveal all of the character's pasts. Stay tuned!**

**In case you were a bit confused-Sarah's _dream_ was like the one Jemma had (see Chapter 18). All the kidos will have them at some point, if they've not already. **

**The newest member of the gang, Abby, just happened to come from my lovely friend, TheMaskedWarrior. If you recall, back in Chapter 21, I had a bit of contest - _505th review gets a prize_. That was the prize! She got to create a character to appear in the story. :D **

**I've been thinking: maybe I should ask you guys what length of chapter you prefer? Do you like the short chapters of the begining (1,500-2,000 words) or the long chapters I've been posting (3,500-5,500)? I like writing the longer chapters better, but I'd like to hear which you prefered reading.**

**I feel like I'm always asking you to review. I'm just so curious to hear what others think of my writing! After all, feedback is what authors thrive on. That, and cranberry limeaids from Sonic. *nods***


	26. Angel or Demon?

**Hello my lovely readers. :) I know, it's been far too long. I have excuses, though. (don't I always? ;) )**

**-We're building a house. I don't mean "we hired people to build it", I mean "we're doing nearly everything ourselves". Everything's gone pretty smoothly. This past weekend, we've been primering the walls, so next weekend we'll get to start painting them. :DD**

**-I'm working on a novel that I'm in the process of trying to publish. (which is quite exciting, if I may add)**

**-I'm in charge of a TWLOHA fundraiser at my high school. :p It's quite stressful. Speaking of TWLOHA (To Write Love On Her Arms)-this week is TWLOHA Week, so write the word LOVE on your arm to support the charity. Oh, and visit twloha(dot)com for more info about the charity. It's really, really neat.**

**-I've been working on an entry for a writing contest I entered. I'm a finalist right now (top ten!), and will find out if I won October 1st. ^_^**

**Hm, I guess that's all my excuses. :) **

**The begining of this chapter basically reviews everything that's happened so far in the book. I though we could all use a refresher. **

**As always, thanks Kanae Valentine for beta-ing. Enjoy~**

**Oh, and it's August 12, afternoon, just outside of Sioux Falls, SD.**

* * *

I leaned against the wall outside of Sarah's room and took a moment to compose myself. With everything that had happened over the last few weeks, it was a wonder I was even _alive_.

_Three measly weeks _ago, I was sitting in Miss Stevens' class taking a quiz. And oddly enough, I still couldn't remember what I wrote for question number five.

A quiet voice chuckled inside my head and Poseidon's voice rang as clear as a bell: _It will be clear very soon, Jemma. Very soon._

I gulped. "What do you mean?"

_When the time is right, you'll see,_ he said.

"Was it something good or bad?" I asked.

_It depends on the perspective, I suppose._

"Okay, from my perspective, is it good or bad?"

_Again, it depends on the perspective. I should hope by now that it would be good._

I frowned._ Was it something I wouldn't have thought was good before all this, then?_ I sighed and pushed the thought to the back of my mind, hoping Poseidon would leave me alone.

After class was over, I ended up running to the ruins of Camp Half Blood. Now that I thought back to it, I bet it was Poseidon that influenced me to go there.

The next time I went to class, Miss Stevens gave me the prophecy. Thinking back on it still gave me shivers. The way her eyes turned green and mist spewed from her mouth… apparently she had the spirit of the Oracle inside her. In a way, she was like us—housing the remnants of an ancient being.

Zac's parents were taken away at the same time as Miss Stevens, and he showed up at the "home". Mr. and Mrs. Howe were taken the next day, under Rule 745. Zac, Donnie, Chad, Sarah and I found the mirror inside the Labyrinth, and officially started our _quest_.

We stopped at a motel in Philadelphia, battled the Minotaur, and picked up Natalie. We stopped to eat and were attacked by the children-eater/waitress, Lamia. Alexa and Ri killed her and transported us to a cave, where official introductions were made. I vaguely remembered what Ri's voice sounded like—I'm almost certain it's the same voice I keep hearing in my dreams. It was deep, yet radiated a warmth.

Zeus possessed Zac and shot a bolt of lightning at me. Whenever I woke up, I was trapped in a rocky grave—a _Culca_, Alexa called it. The only way I escaped was because Des—who was introduced a short while later—had spoken to me inside my head, and told me things weren't always what they seemed. She warned me that I would need to remember that in the future. _Just what isn't what it seems is the question,_ I thought to myself.

Alexa told Chiron about the book that contained everything _ever_—according to Alexa—and we found out that we were the reincarnations of the gods.

Something else happened—_Zac almost kissed you_, my brain so kindly supplied—and then the joke telling Cercopes made an appearance. Oddly enough, they were the reason we final set our destination—San Francisco. I shivered again. Six day until we reached Mt. Orthys, the Titan's headquarters. That would be only time the Titan's whereabouts were public. Fighting on their domain would be tough.

We ended up walking for a while, before finding a road. I met my flying pegasus—Anaya—but she flew away whenever James' bus drove by. Zac and I met James, and he showed us Zac's _death scene_. That's when I formulated my plan to split us up.

I had the dream where I watched myself die. Shortly afterwards, James ran over the baby Bandersnatch, causing Mama Bandersnatch to go haywire on us. I ended up with a broken sternum and some cracked ribs, not to mention the lovely scars on my face and an eye that belongs to Kronos' top advisor.

We had tea with Tarrant Hightopp and picked up Jezabelle; _we should have left her there_, I added.

James carried me back to the bus and I woke up three days later. He gave me his sister's eye patch and took off my face bandage. Alexa and I went into _The Waffle House_ to talk, where a shadowy black panther thing attacked me. Yes, I passed out _again._

The gang split, something else happened—_You and Zac kissed_, my brain added again. _Thanks brain_. James swore on the River Styx to protect me with his life…

Zac and company left, and James told me about Pandora and her jar. _Whenever we find Hestia, we'll find Hope, I think_. Alexa interrupted our conversation, warning us that Anima Comdentis were coming. Thinking back on _that_—Alexa always seemed to know whenever something bad was about to happen. Apollo was the god of prophecies, if I remembered correctly. It had never occurred to me that maybe she could see the future. _If_ she could see the future, then she must know what's going to happen at the final battle. I'll have to ask her.

The Anima Comedentis sucked the life out of me, and I passed out. What's that, the _sixth_ time I've passed out? Whenever I woke up, Abby was sitting in my room, pretending to be Zac and then James. She left and I went to Sarah's room. And now I'm here.

So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Everything I thought I knew turned out to be a total lie. The leaders I used to look up to are the bad guys, and I'm one of the bad guys who are actually the good guys. Who would've thought that I, Jemma Kilmore, was part of a group that was going to save humanity?

_Yessss, who would have thought you would be our savior?_ a reptilian voice whispered.

_George! Don't be so rude! It's not her fault she's got no meat on her bones!_ another reptilian voice said, this one higher—a female.

_I've seen rats with more meat than she has_, the male voice said. _Speaking of rats, do you happen to have any?_

"George, Martha, where are you?" I whispered into the darkness, feeling around the area I was sitting. My hand connected with cool, scaly skin, and a muted shriek escaped my lips.

_No need to get so touchy, Jemma,_ Martha said, slithering up my arm, George in tow.

"Uh, sorry," I muttered, shrugging them off of me. "What are you doing? And where's Donnie?"

_He'll find us in a minute, I'm sure, _Martha said.

_We're playing hide-and-seek! _George exclaimed.

_And as to why we're here—well, we heard your recollection of events so far, and_—

_Why didn't you mention meeting us?_ George finished.

"Um, I'm so—hey wait! How did you hear me? I was thinking it all in my head. Can you read minds?"

If snakes had shoulders, I'm sure they'd be shrugging them.

"I found you Georgie!" Donnie shouted, tackling the snakes and myself.

_If you found me, you also found Martha—_

_Because we're attached, Donnie, _Martha concluded.

Donnie rolled off of me, laughing. "Oh yeah." He stood up and grabbed onto George and Martha's midsection, then started to walk away.

"Wait Donnie!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet.

"Need something, Jemma?"

"Where is everyone?"

The blonde ten year old shrugged his shoulders. "Sarah's in her room, James is driving, Abby's lying on one of the couches watching some movie called _The Empire Strikes Back_, and Alexa's sitting at the table staring at the mirror."

"She's not talking to anyone?"

He shook his head. "Huh uh. Nope, she's not even really watching the mirror. It's more like she's thinking really hard and not really looking at anything. She's been sitting there all day."

I frowned. "Okay, thanks Don. You guys can get back to playing now, if you want."

Donnie smirked and ran off down the hallway, and I set off in the direction of the living room/kitchen. Sure enough, Abby was sprawled out on the couch. The white fabric of the couch contrasted dramatically with the black colors of her wardrobe. I could hear the TV playing.

"No way," I whispered, turning to face the TV. A figure cloaked in black with a black helmet stood there. Then the camera flashed to boy with a red scar on his eye. "Star Wars?"

A string of curses erupted behind me, and the television paused. "Why'd you have to interrupt at _that_ part?" Abby asked, annoyed. I turned to face her.

"Where'd you find the movie?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and pointed behind me. "There's a whole cabinet full of 'em. If you think of what movie you want, it comes to the front. James said it was enchanted by magic." _By Megan,_ I silently added to Abby's answer.

"Have you ever seen this movie before?" I asked.

She got a funny look on her face. "TVs are outlawed. I've never even seen one before. Let alone seen a _movie playing on one._"

"Oh, right," I mumbled. As soon as Kronos killed Percy and the Elite Twelve took over, they outlawed all TVs, movies, radios—anything that could allow others to communicate secretly. Luckily my granny never listened to things like that. We had a TV _and_ a radio. It's funny—I was three whenever I was taken away from her, but I still remembered almost everything we watched or listened to.

"Could you move? You make a much better door than window, you know," Abby muttered, motioning for me to sidestep.

"Yeah, I'd better let you get back to Darth Vader." I winked and turned on my heels towards the dining room, where the magical, enchanted table sat, hoping to find Alexa.

"Lex?" I asked, frowning at the sight. She was sitting in one of the chairs, her arms at her side, staring into the mirror in front of her. Her eyes seemed kind of glazed, though—like she wasn't seeing the darkened screen. Her honey hair was swept back behind her ears, to keep it away from her face.

"Um, Alexa? Can you hear me?" I asked again, stepping closer to the pixie-like girl. She didn't stir.

Something could have happened to her. I mean, Donnie said she'd been sitting there all day. She's an early riser, and it's probably one o'clock by now—she'd been sitting there for at least _eight hours_, provided what Donnie said was true. I hesitantly reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She jerked violently, like a current went through her body. Her eyes widened, and as she looked up at me, they seemed to glow—like two mini suns.

"A-Alexa…" I mumbled, retracting my hand as I jumped back.

She blinked, and her gaze softened, her eyes dimming back to amber. She frowned. "Jemma?"

"Alexa?" I repeated, unable to think of anything more to say.

She blinked a few more times, like she was just now realizing where she was. She took a deep breath and shook her head, then put a small smile on her freckled face. "H-hey. What's happen'?"

I pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. "I think _I _should be asking _you_ that."

She sighed, her smiling faltering. "How long have I been sitting here?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Oh, not too long. Maybe _eight hours!_ What were you doing?"

She placed her hands onto the table and began fiddling with her golden ring. "I was just checking our, um… _path_ so far," she whispered.

"For eight hours?" I asked apprehensively.

She nodded slowly. "Or rather, exploring our _paths_."

"What do you mean?"

She looked over my head, towards the entrance to the dining room, and pursed her lips. "You have something to ask me. It'll make this much easier if you do."

My face twisted in confusion. "Huh?"

She put two fingers up to each of her temples and closed her eyes. "Okay, um—something about my godly insides. That's all I can say, though."

I frowned. What did she mean? I knew that Apollo was inside of her, but—_oh_, I was planning on asking her if she could see the future. But how would she know that? Unless, of course, she _could_ see the future. "Uh, you can't see the future, can you?"

Her head snapped up, and a pleasant smile lit up her face. "I can't not, in a sense, not see what I can't determine to be the future." She looked at me expectantly.

_Okay Jemma, think about this. Double negatives cancel each other. 'Can't not' becomes 'can' and 'not see what I can't' becomes 'see what I can'. I can, in a sense, see what I can determine to be the future. _"So you can," I said, grinning.

"You said it, I didn't," she said, suddenly taking an interest in the mirror once again.

"What paths were you _not_ exploring that you _can't_ tell me about?"

She bit her lip. "Every outcome is the same, now. I can't—I can't see any other way."

"Well, is it a good or a bad outcome?" I asked, suddenly thinking about the conversation Poseidon and I had had a few minutes ago, and about how it led nowhere fast.

"It depends on the perspective."

I mentally face-palmed. "From my perspective?"

"It won't be _good_," she whispered. "At all."

"We're doing something wrong, then?"

"It wasn't anything that could be helped. Ever since—" She made a weird sound. "—and suddenly every path leads to _that_."

"Ever since _what_ happened?"

She looked up at me, a ghost of a smile on her face. "James is going to have to make a choice. Our fate—" She paused for a moment. "_Everyone's _fate, lies on that choice."

What choice could have so much resting on it?

"Wh—" I started to say, but paused. Something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked down that table. The mirror was no longer displaying the black void—no, Chiron's weathered face appeared. Alexa made no move to pick it up, so I did.

"Hello, Jemma," the centaur said, offering me a smile.

"Chiron," I nodded. "What brings you to this side of the alternate universe?"

He pursed his lips. "After the attack of the Anima Comedentis, I've realized that you all must be properly trained. None of you—save for Alexa—know how to use your full powers."

He did have a point. "You're a teacher, right?"

Chiron's eyes twinkled. "Yes, I am a teacher. I cannot, unfortunately, teach you whenever I cannot physically be there."

I heard a chair scoot; Sarah was sitting behind me, leaning over my shoulder to look in the mirror. She whispered a "_thanks,_" in my ear, before saying louder, "Then who's going to teach us?"

"That's what I was getting at, Miss Rhodes," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "A camper came to me this morning, and proposed an idea. It's quite ingenious, really. Here, I'll hand it over to Avelinette."

The mirror swirled a rainbow of colors before resting upon a girl with a pale complexion and raven black hair. Streaks of purple framed her face, highlighting her eyes, which swirled with purples, blacks, greys, blues, and greens—like a boiling cauldron. She wore a black shirt with what I could only assume was a cartoon character popular in their world, and a strange doll made of sting around her neck. She smiled, though it radiated no warmth. "I'm Ave," she said. "Just _Ave_."

"Nice to meet you , _Just Ave_," I said. "I'm Jem—"

"Jemma," Ave said curtly. "Sarah's behind you. I can feel Alexa's presence on the other side of this mirror. Donnie is hiding under the table, and Abby is walking into the room as we speak."

Collectively, Sarah, Abby—who was indeed walking into the room, Donnie—who was crawling out from under the table, and I and started to ask, "How did you know—"

"I can see your auras; I can feel your presences. It's like a sixth sense children of Hecate are born with," she explained.

"Oh," I muttered, stretching my arm further back to try to let Abby and Donnie into the picture. Alexa had gone back to staring at the table, deep in thought—_exploring our paths, _as she said.

"Anyway," the dark haired daughter of Hecate started, "about my _ingenious_ idea." She motioned for someone beside her to step closer to get into the picture, but they didn't, so, rolling her eyes, she reached out and yanked them towards her. A dark headed boy in an aviator's jacket appeared beside her—Nico.

"Nikki, here," she said, cocking her head at the boy. "Can, of course, raise the dead. And since you seem to be in short supply of the goddess Hecate, and have an abundance of the god Hades, I thought he could teach James how to raise the dead, namely Megan."

"I thought it was a good idea," Percy said, popping in behind Nico and Ave.

"I actually did, too," Annabeth said, materializing beside Percy.

"So all we've got to do is—" Her face paled as she stopped midsentence.

"What's wrong?"

She blinked. "Uh, _raising_ the dead isn't going to be an issue."

"Huh?"

"What're you guys doing?" James asked. I turned around, and saw him standing on the opposite side of the table, his shiny black hair swung messily to the side.

"We're talking to Ave about contacting Megan's spirit," I told him. With those words, he seemed to pale, and his black eyes widened. I turned back to the mirror, where Ave seemed to have paled even more. "Why isn't _raising_ the dead going to be an issue?" I emphasized _raising_ as she had.

She shook her head. "I'm sure James can tell you." She bit her lip and creased her dark brows before saying, "I guess I'm not needed anymore. I'll just take my leav—"

"I'm not needed either, and I'm still here," Percy said, grabbing her shoulders.

Ave shrugged off his hands and motioned towards the mirror. "_He_ has a very… _odd_ aura. It gives me a headache." And with that, she walked away.

_First Anaya, and now Ave—why does James make them feel odd?_ I asked myself. I turned to face James. "Well?"

He began to twirl one of the rings in hands and muttered something under his breath.

"Well isn't that just a kick in the _pants_," Nico said, seemingly suppressing a laugh. I turned back towards the mirror, arching a brow.

"Why?" Sarah asked. "What's wrong?"

Nico shook his head. "Ave was right—there's no need to teach James how to _raise_ the dead. He's _obviously_ got that part under control."

I again, turned to face James, who now had his eyes trained on his shoes. "What in Tartarus is he talking about?"

James' gaze was fixed on an area to his right, and he was whispering and shaking his head.

"James, seriously, what's going on?" I asked again.

James eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms, his jaw squared in anger. He slowly turned to face me and said, "Megan says she's ready to _officially _meet you."

"_Officically?_ What's that supposed to—" I started to ask, then stopped. Suddenly, everything clicked into place. James could easily raise the dead, what with him being Hades. And since Megan was, or rather—is Hecate, then she wouldn't have entered the Underworld unless she wanted, since Hecate was the one who controlled the passing of souls.

Megan hadn't went _anywhere_ after she died. She'd been with James the entire time.

"Where's Megan?" Donnie asked, confused. "I don't see anyone there."

"You will," Nico said from the mirror, a chuckle in his voice.

James let a sigh escape his lips. "Tell me what to do before I change my mind."

The smile slipped from the olive toned boy. "Okay, well, first you need to get something to be used as an offering, uh _Dad_."

James' eye twitched. "_Dad?"_

Nico's checks reddened. "I didn't know what to—"

"Hey, Percy?" I asked, smirking. I had the _perfect_ thing to say.

"Yes, Jemma?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father," I said, trying to keep my voice level and contain the fit of laughter that was soon to erupt.

Percy's face melted into a look of surprise, and then awe. "He told me enough, he told me you killed him!" he managed to say.

"No Percy, I am your father," I whispered, exploding in laughter. Everyone in the mirror started laughing. I was the only one of my side to do so.

All too soon, the laughter died, replaced by an overwhelming silence.

Nico cleared his throat. "_James_, you'll need some sort of edible item. Possibly something that Megan liked."

James' eye twitched and he walked out of the room, muttering about "everyone eating his g'damn peanut butter."

"What exactly does this _ritual _consist of?" I asked Nico.

He grinned. "Oh, you'll all have to wear black ceremonial robes, make a sacrifice, drink blood for the gods—"

Donnie's eyes widened. "R-really?"

I shot a dirty look at the mirror and turned to face the blond boy. "No sweetie, Nico's just trying to be funny. Nothing like that's going to happen."

Relief flooded his tiny face. "Oh, okay. Good."

"This is my last jar of peanut butter," James huffed, walking up behind me. He slammed the plastic jar down on the table. "Someone's been eating it all."

"I've only had one jar!" I snapped.

"This is the very last of the peanut butter, Jemma. They don't make it anymore. It's all gone," he said. "_Gone."_

"Oh."

"So Megan liked peanut butter?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," James replied shortly.

"Can we get on with this?" Abby asked, faking a yawn. "I've got a date with Darth Vader I need to keep. Kronos knows what'd happen if I canceled."

"Um, yeah. James, center the peanut butter on the table," Nico said.

The black haired boy nodded and positioned the container where appropriate. "Next?"

"The obvious—you offer the offering to Megan. She eats it. Badabing, badaboom. And I have to ask, have you ever heard the saying 'only angels and demons can raise the dead?' Which one are you, James?" Nico asked.

The Hades-reincarnate didn't respond. Maybe he didn't know how to response. I don't know how I would answer. Are you an _angel _for bringing them back, or a _demon _for condemning them to this world once more?

* * *

**Thanks for reading. :)**

**Tell me, are you an angel for bringing them back, or a demon for comdemning them to this world once more? :o**

**CarolinaEirasSa made a logo for _Through the Looking Glass _that you can look at on my website. It's sooooo cool! And a friend of mine started a website for Percy Jackson roleplaying. You can find a link to it on my profile. **

**Now then, I have some readers to address:**

**Mikitara - MAKE A FANFICTION ACCOUNT! And thanks for all the reviews. I love hearing from you. ^_^**

**avelinette - Thanks for all the help with the chapter. :D It's because of you that Jemma & Company are going to be prepared for the Final Battle!**

**BookLuvrr - You got your "Percy, I am your father!" ;)**

**And thank you to everyone else who's stuck with me through thick and thin! I intend to see this through to the end, no matter how long it takes. :DD**


	27. The Sands of Time

The lights inside the room all flickered off and back on as James raised his palms and offered the peanut butter to Megan's ghost. I felt Donnie's small hand slip into mine, and saw Sarah scoot closer to me. The temperature in the room seemed to drop considerably.

I watched in awe as the silhouette of a slender girl sitting on the table became visible. Her translucent hands shoveled the brown mush into her mouth, and with each bite, she became more solid.

Deep red hair tumbled down her back in soft curls. Her pale face was covered in freckles and piercings, and her eyes, which were lined darkly with kohl, swirled the same way Ave's did—greens, purples, and blacks mixing together, like a cauldron. Atop her head sat a tattered witch's hat and her body was cloaked in an emerald robe. Her legs were covered in what I could only assume was black leather.

A huge smirk lit up her face, and she turned to look me straight in the eye. "Hello, Jemma," she said. Her voice was pleasantly high, and had a melodic rhythm to it. "It's a pleasure to _finally _meet you." With those words, she leapt off the table with feline grace, and planted her feet directly in front of me.

"Uh, hi… Megan," I stammered, my hand shakily reaching out to her outstretched one. I couldn't touch her—each time my flesh neared hers, her skin would flow away from my hand.

"Well that's upsetting," she mumbled, replacing her hand back at her side. "No matter." She gazed down at Donnie, and tried to ruffle his sandy hair. Of course, it didn't work, and only helped to freak him out.

"Hey, Megan," Sarah said, smiling up at the Hecate-reincarnate. "I'm—"

"Sarah," she said warmly. "It's pleasure to meet you, as well. I've heard you have quite the green thumb, eh?"

Sarah was practically beaming. "Oh yeah!" She started rambling in her signature "Sarah" way. I took this moment to look at James. His dark eyes were trained on the floor, and he appeared to be muttering to himself. I opened my mouth to say something to him, but Megan's harmonious voice interrupted me.

"Okay, you Yankees," she said, pulling a long, slender stick out from her boot. She twirled in it her fingers as she continued: "You've got a lot to learn, and I'm a bit short on time, so to speak. So come on, I'mma teach you how to harness your powers!" She skipped out of the room, whistling a familiar song Granny and I used to listen to—_Welcome to the Jungle _by _Guns N' Roses_.

Donnie giggled and dashed after her, Sarah in tow behind him. Abby, hard as she tried, couldn't help but smile. I had a feeling she was itching to learn how to control her powers. She followed.

I heard the door of the bus slam shut, so I figured they were outside.

Alexa, seemingly snapping out of a trance, said, "Chiron needs to talk to you. Alone." She handed me the mirror and stiffly stood up from her chair. She blinked a couple of times and walked out of the room.

I looked down at the mirror, at the black screen. Then my eyes traveled farther down—to the handle. It was worn and a tarnished silver color. I could almost feel the indentations where hundreds of hands before mine had surely held it.

"I shouldn't have done this," James muttered. I slowly looked up. James was staring at his hands. "I shouldn't have brought her back. She wouldn't cross over. She—"

"—didn't want to leave," I whispered, pursing my lips.

He shook his head. "Why would she want to stay here? This world gone to shi—"

"She didn't want to leave _you, _James. _You_."

He furrowed his brows and snorted. "If I had the pleasure of leaving this world, I'd take it."

"Are you saying you _want _to die?"

"Death is only the beginning," he said softly, twirling a piece of string hanging from his worn tee shirt. "If I had the chance of leaving this world of pain and suffering, leave all my memories behind—" he winced and gingerly rubbed the back of his head, remembering something, "—I'd take it."

"Really?" I squeaked.

"Yeah, really." He frowned. "Don't give me that look, Jemma."

"What look?"

"The one where your eyes get great big and lips pudge ever so slightly. It just—gah! Stop it!"

"Mmh, I don't think I will," I said. _Even though I didn't realize I was. _

The faintest of smiles tugged at his lips. "Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to go sulk in my room. You need to talk to Chiron, so…" He sauntered out of the room.

I took a deep breath. _It's now or never, Jemma. You can do this. Just keep your composure. No matter what he tells you—keep calm. You accepted your fate a long time ago. _

I took another deep breath to steady my nerves and picked up the mirror. "Hello?" I called. "Anyone there? It's Jemma."

The screen remained black.

"Hey, um, Chiron? If you're there, uh, pick up?"

Still no response.

"Percy? Nico? Annabeth?"

Nothing.

"Is anybody there?"

Suddenly, the mirror swirled, and panicked grey eyes appeared. "Jemma," Annabeth said, catching her breath like she'd been running.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?" I asked. "What's going on?"

She glanced over her shoulder. "The monster attacks have become much more frequent on our borders. Each one seems to get stronger than the last. I—"

"Attacks on your borders?" I asked, bewildered. I hadn't heard anything about this.

She frowned. "I guess you've been out of the loop lately, haven't you?" I felt my cheeks burn, and she continued. "Ever since Percy found this mirror and we started communicating, massive amounts of monsters began targeting Camp. It's almost like there's a wrinkle in…" She paused as her face seemed to light up. "Of course! Why didn't I think of this before? _Di immortals!_"

"Uh, thought of _what_, exactly?"

"Our two worlds are able to communicate because of a wrinkle in the fabric of time, so to speak." She must have seen my vacant expression, because she elaborated. "Okay, imagine time as a giant quilt." I nodded. "Now then, there are two circles relatively close to each other, lying on the time blanket. They never touch, never interact. But then someone accidently ruffles it—causing a ridge between the two circles. Suddenly, those circles are close enough to touch. They can interact. But in time, that ridge is going to get bigger—" She wadded her hands into balls and showed one overlapping the other. "—and bigger, until—"

"They collide?"

She nodded. "They'll overlap, essentially destroying each other."

"And you're telling me this because?" I asked. I already knew the answer—I guessed I just needed confirmation.

"It's happening to us."

I nodded slowly, letting the words sink in. By existing, we are destroying their world. Then again, by them existing, they're destroying _our _world…

"Chiron really does need to talk to you," Annabeth mumbled, a shadow cast across her face. "I think he's in the infirmary. I'll take you to him…" The mirror dimmed to black as the sounds of battle faded into nothing.

I sighed and rose from the chair, walking to the window. In the distance, I could see Sarah, Donnie, and Abby standing in a line as Megan twirled her wand. I couldn't help but let a small smile grace my lips, though it quickly faltered. If the prophecy went according to plan—they probably wouldn't be here in a week. A single _week. _

"Jemma, are you there?" Chiron's voice called out from the mirror. I stumbled back to the table and gazed down, nodding. Chiron didn't spare any time in greetings: "I have found something that may be of use to you."

"Like what?" I asked, my eyes transfixed on the people in the background—kids were lying on cots everywhere—some bloody, some bandaged.

"I had nearly forgotten about it," he murmured. "The Sands of Time."

"Uh…"

A maniacal smile briefly crossed his ragged face. "In the book Alexa had me locate a few days ago—"

"The one that told us we were the reincarnations of the gods?" I asked, settling back into the chair.

"The very same," he began. "With the book, I was able to refresh my memory. It was quite strange really, almost as if my memory of the Sands had been shrouded…" He trailed off.

My eyes widened. "Wait, like your memories had been hidden?"

He looked back up at me. "Yes, why?"

"Lor—_Kronos_ is in your world, too, right? What if your world Kronos knows about our world, and is trying to prevent you from helping us defeat him? Defeat our world Kronos, I mean."

A puzzled look traversed his face, and he started to say something, but quickly dismissed it. "My father's remains were cast into Tartarus after being chopped into a million pieces. He cannot influence me, let alone know about _your _world."

"But the immortals, even if their bodies aren't livable—isn't their sub-consciousness still there? Being Father Time—shouldn't he know about _all _the alternate universes?" I asked. Truthfully, I was surprising myself with the knowledge I had.

"Hm." Chiron rubbed his chin and raised a greying brow. "Let us pray you are wrong. Or I fear we may have more on our hands than we thought."

I gritted my teeth. What if Kronos was somehow able to come back to life in their world? Would Percy be able to defeat him a second time?

"_He's going to have to, isn't he?" _Poseidon said inwardly.

"_Are you saying Kronos really is back?" _I mentally asked.

"_I'm saying that they better be prepared, that's all," _he said.

"_And where have you been lately?"_

I heard him sigh. Which is actually really weird, if you think about it. _"I've been… exploring."_

"_Wha—"_

"_I'm not exactly confined to you, Jemma, if that makes sense. I can explore the subconscious world—kind of like the spirit world, you know?"_

"_No, I don't know. Kelp for brains, remember?"_

"_You're much smarter than you give yourself credit for, Jemma."_

I chuckled. _"Uh, suuuuure."_

"_I speak nothing but the truth. You're the leader of your group, and as leader, you've had many choices to make, no? And haven't you always made the smartest decision?"_

"_I don't know," _I admitted. _"I really don't know anymore."_

"Jemma, did you hear what I said? Jemma?" Chiron asked, bringing me back to the present. Poseidon slipped back into silence; maybe off exploring the subconscious world, _whatever that is_.

"Uh, no. Sorry, Chiron. I was talking to—_never mind. _Could you repeat that?"

He gave me a weird look. "I said I think I may have interpreted a few lines of the prophecy."

"And the Sands of Time have something to do with this, right?"

He nodded. "I suppose first you should know what the Sands of Time are." He stretched an arm back into his saddlebag, pulling the worn book from it. He opened it and started leafing through the pages.

"So you think this is going to help?" I asked, twirling a piece of hair with the hand that wasn't holding the mirror.

He didn't appear to be listening to me. "Ah! Here it is," he said, pointing at the open page. He cleared his throat, then began reading. "The Sands of Time. The Sands of Time is an ancient, powerful object that has existed as long as time itself. It was created—"

"I really hate I interrupt," I said with a small smile, "but do you think you could paraphrase? It's been kind of hard for me to concentrate for long periods of time."

A twinkle in Chiron's warm eyes sparkled, and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "Of course, of course." He quickly scanned the page before closing the book and dropping it back into the satchel.

"The Sands of Time," he began once again, "have existed forever. No one knows how they came to be, only that they are."

"Are what?"

"_Existing. _Only that they are _existing,_" he said patiently. "They have long been associated with destruction. Initially, the twelve sands interacted and resided together in peace. Each ruling immortal deity before the gods tried to use their powers for evil—to try and destroy the world, to bring it to a vegetative state as it once was, before mankind came to be."

"And now the Titans are trying—"

"If I finish, I'm sure your question will be answered," Chiron said gently. "During the first Titanomachy, the Titans tried to use the Sands. The gods barely defeated them, but they managed; they were able to take possession of the Sands, as well. The Sands cannot be destroyed. To ensure the Sands wouldn't be used to bring forth the ultimate destruction, the gods—"

"Separated them," I muttered, everything clicking into place. The dream I had—when I was Poseidon, and all the gods were gathered around the glowing sand orb… that was the Sands of Time. I'm sure of it.

"They did," he said, nodding. "Channeling all their powers into one area caused the Sands to separate. Something happened that they didn't expect, though."

"What? What happened?"

The centaur shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know. The book omits that detail. I recall no memories of what happened, only that they encountered something unexpected."

"So, we know that somewhere out there, most likely hidden, are twelve _bits of Sand _that can destroy the world? Oh, but we don't know where they are or what they look like. We only know that they're out there. And now we're going to have to find them, too, in addition to finding the rest of the _freaking gods! _I mean, how hard can _that _be?"

"Please, Jemma—calm down," Chiron said wearily. "The only ones who hold the secret are the gods. They're the only ones that can tell you."

"Obviously since they've not told any of us, yet—they aren't going to. Why are they keeping it a secret? What is it they don't want us to know?"

He raised a hand to his temple and slowly rubbed circles. "I don't know, Jemma. I don't know! I'm trying to help you, only, _you're _making it very complicated!" He threw his arms into the air and my eyes widened. I had never seen Chiron this way.

And it scared me.

"I'm trying to find information that may help you, but every time I try to help you, you push me away! What am I supposed to do?"

"I—I…" Even though I knew he wasn't physically here, I was frightened. I _never _thought Chiron would react this way.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Talk to Poseidon. Do not tell anyone else about this. We don't want to worry them." He slowly shook his head and the mirror's light dimmed, returning to black.

I was frozen. About four things was I certain:

Our worlds are slowly being destroyed.

If we're not careful, we're going to destroy our world, anyway.

The gods are hiding a _big_ secret.

Stress is really getting to Chiron.

It was a lot to take in.

On impulse, my fists clenched. _"Poseidon!"_ I mentally shouted. _"I know you're in there! Talk to me! I know you've been less than honest on what you know."_

No response.

Okay, new approach. _"Poseidon, I _need _to know what we're going to be up against. You were _there _when the Sands were separated. What happened?"_

I felt him stirring.

"_I just… If we all want to survive, I _need _to know. Okay?"_

Suddenly, my head slumped forward on the table as I lost control of my body, like I was being ripped _into my mind._

And then I wasn't sitting at the table in the bus that had grown to the equivalency of home; no—I was back in my _old _home.

I gently ran my hand across the blue fabric of the couch, tracing the wave designs with my fingers. I couldn't help but smile. Being in Granny's home had that effect on people—caused them to forget their anger, and gain an almost _jovial _feeling.

"Jemma, you must understand," a deep voice whispered. My eye followed the voice to its owner—the short, plump woman I once called Granny.

"Poseidon," I said, "Why do you always take the form of my grandmother?"

His sea green eyes crinkled. "She remains the strongest presence within your subconscious. It requires less power for me to take her form. Lately, though, another presence has been dominating your thoughts." He winked.

I felt color flood to my cheeks. _Zac._ I couldn't help but worry about him! He was brash and acted on impulse; what if he managed to get his group in trouble? Of course, that wasn't the only reason I thought about him…

I looked back at Poseidon. "Tell me," I demanded.

He shook his head. "I have been forbidden to do so."

"By who?"

"Zeus," he said wistfully, "forced us to swear on the River Styx."

My stomach churned. Bonds like that are not forces to be reckoned with. "You can _never ever _tell me?"

He furrowed his brows. "When the time arrives, I must. It is the only way."

"You're going to break your promise?" I asked, now staring at the faded ashen walls.

"Yes," he said grimly. "I can say this, though—the answer is nearer than you think. Much, much closer, indeed." His eyes seemed to waver upon my ear for a split second, but they quickly moved on. Did I imagine it?

He cleared his throat. "You must be getting back. I sense you will be adding a new member to your party very soon. It feels refreshing to sense her presence once more…" He trailed off, and I felt like I was being pushed, then I resumed control of my body once more.

New member? Good. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least we would be one step closer to finding the twelve of the prophecy. I wonder which god it'll be. Or rather—_goddess_, as Poseidon had said. I had to admit, it was a bit exciting. But only a bit. It was just one more person who would die in the end… Unless they were the survivor. Happy thought, eh?

I slowly rose from the chair, stuffing the mirror into my back pocket as I walked out of the dining room, into the kitchen/living room and out the door. The sun was about to start sinking below the horizon. There was probably thirty minutes until dark.

I quickly located Sarah, Donnie, Abby, and Megan, and made my way over to the four of them.

"Alright, once you feel all the energy building up inside, focus on it. Clear your mind of everything else, and imagine it growing," Megan said, her eyes closed. He hands were centered in front of her stomach, forming a sort of triangle.

"Like a flower?" Sarah asked.

"Precisely," Megan said, smirking. "Now, picture the energy flowing through your arms, to your hands, into your fingers…" Her pale fingers began dancing with greenish purple sparks.

I looked at Sarah's fingers, which also were lit up with a green spark. Donnie's fingers were enveloped with a golden spark, and Abby's were a deep maroon.

"Slowly spread your hands apart and the energy flow should continue," the red-head said, pulling her hands apart. An arch of the purple-green light formed a bridge. I watched the others do the same.

"Can you feel the power?" Megan asked, her emerald robe swishing softly behind her. The others nodded. "Now, I want you to open your eyes." She glanced over at me and winked, then continued, "See that lone tree over there on the hill?"

"Yup," they said.

"Okay, I want you to mush the power into a ball," she said, collapsing one hand into another. They followed suit. "Here comes the fun part—aim the ball at the tree and throw it!" Megan hauled back and launched the energy ball at the bare pine. It hit a branch that immediately crumbled to dust at the impact.

Sarah launched hers next; the branch the ball of energy hit sprung to life—needles sprouting from it, fresh and green.

Donnie threw his—the branch he hit exploding with impact.

Abby tossed her last; the branch hers hit wilted and drooped.

"Your energy depends upon which god you're hosting, of course. That being said, you have lots of different _forms _of energy you can conjure—with practice, of course," Megan said, smiling brightly. "Oh, and you can use your weapons to more effectively channel your energy. And plus, it's not as draining."

"Wow," I managed to say. Look at how powerful they're becoming!

Sarah, Donnie, and Abby swarmed me, telling me all about what Megan had taught them and how _insanely powerful _they felt. They were practically beaming, and I was, too, seeing their joy.

"Here, I'll teach you, too!" Megan shouted, cracking a grin.

I quickly agreed, and in no time, I had mastered an energy ball of my own. And I agreed with them—I felt _insanely powerful_ while doing it. For the remainder of the evening, we all experimented around, testing the different forms of energy we could create. I was particularly fond of the altered energy ball I could make—the form I had dubbed _"Water Knives"_. As the name suggested, I shaped the energy into a serrated edge that easily split the distant pine half.

Once darkness settled across the land, we reluctantly headed back to the bus, where Alexa greeted us with cool bottles of water. I downed mine in a few gulps, not realizing how dehydrated I was until I had done so. _Note to self: drink more. _

I looked for James, but didn't see him anywhere. He was either in his room or the little driver's alcove. I received my answer soon thereafter, as the bus lurched forward.

"Hey, do any of you know where a map is?" Megan asked, crossing her arms.

"There's one is Des' room, I think," Alexa chirped. "I'll go get it—"

"No, I'll get it," I said. "You just sit."

Alexa looked at me funny, a strand of her platinum hair falling into her eyes, which she promptly closed. They squinted, then opened once more. She motioned me forward. _Was she looking into the future? What was I going to find in Des' room?_

Only one way to find out, I supposed. I trudged forward, through the dark hall, until I found a door that looked promising. It was large and sturdily built—industrial steel and sophisticated looking. Engraved on a shiny nameplate was _Desdemona's Chamber_.

I couldn't help but chuckle. _Chamber _certain fit Des.

I didn't see a door handle anywhere. "Um, _open sesame?_"

A computer automated voice sounded. "State reason for entry."

"Uh, map," I stuttered. "I need a map."

"Voice recognition detected Jemma Kilmore," the voice said, and the door swung open.

"Thanks," I murmured, stepping into the shadowy room. The door shut behind me, leaving me in absolute darkness.

"Welcome, Jemma Kilmore, to Desdemona Greyson's Chamber," the voice began, "I am Computer Automated Neuron Diffusion Apparatus, CANDA for abbreviation."

"You mean, _for short_?" I asked, then cursed. I was arguing with a computer! In the dark! In a strange room!

"Jemma Kilmore, you shall locate maps in the far right corner of the room. I have also been instructed to direct you to Desdemonda Greyson's worktable. Desdemona Greyson said that if Jemma Kilmore touches anything she is not supposed to, Desdemona Greyson will not hesitate to bring upon Jemma Kilmore's ultimate demise," CANDA said.

Overhead lights switched on—big, industrial style, flooding the whole room with light. I drew in a breath at the sight: strange box contraptions—Percy called them _laptops_—littered several tables, easels with blueprints for all sorts of ideas were scattered about, notebooks and pencils were perched on the edges of tables, on the floor, etc.; maps lined the walls and several were stacked in a corner, metallic puppets hung from the ceiling, moving on their own. There was a second floor, even—more of a loft style—about half the size of the first floor—with a silver ladder leading up to it. I assumed her bed was up there, since there wasn't one on this level.

It still blew my mind that magic could conceal all of this in a bus.

"Jemma Kilmore, maps are in the far right corner," CANDA reminded me.

I skipped over to the map corner, carefully dodging the little robotic figures scurrying about the floor, trying not to step on anything. I quickly located the map I had drawn on a few days ago, and ran my hand along my loopy lettering. _Jemma, James, Sarah, Donnie, Alexa, _the top line read. And the bottom line said _Zacia, Natalie, Jezabelle, Chad, Des_. It seemed like such a long time ago that we parted ways. What had it been? Two days?

"Jemma Kilmore should know that Desdemona Greyson's work table is located on Level Two," CANDA informed.

"Yes, CANDA," I mumbled, rolling up the map and tucking it under my arm. I made my way over to the ladder and started climbing.

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the top level—it was nothing like the bottom: it was light and airy, with a skylight over a small bed in the corner. The walls were painted a pale yellow, a bookcase beside it. A handsome desk occupied the opposite side, the wood warm and obviously hand carved.

Basically, it was the complete opposite of what I pictured Des' bedroom to look like.

"Jemma Kilmore, Desdemona Greyson's work table is to your right," CANDA said. CANDA was quite pushy for a computer automated neuron diffusion apparatus.

I walked over to the desk, dragging my toes on the plush blue carpet, and sat down at it. Now what could she want me to get?

There was an old photo sitting on her desk of an oriental couple holding a new born baby, dark hair atop its head. The woman looked strikingly similar to Des. _Probably her mom and dad_. But why was this the only picture she had of them? Unless… her parents were taken like mine were when she was a baby.

The only other object on the desk was a crème colored enveloped, _Jemma_ written across it in beautiful calligraphy. I picked it up and broke the seal on the back, opening it.

_Dearest Jemma,_

_Do you remember whenever we first met, and I told you to remember something? 'Things aren't always what they seem.' Please keep this in mind, Jemma. Please._

_James has not been completely honest with us. Beware._

_Des_

* * *

**Just so you know, I posted this at exactly midnight on New Years. Maybe it'll be good luck?**

**Hey guys! :D I thought I'd start posting all of my author's note stuff at the bottom only, so you could get straight to the story. :)**

**Anyway.**

**It's been a long time, hasn't it? I'm really, really sorry. I haven't had internet in a very long time. I really don't want to take up your time on here, so if you want more info on my absense, check my profile. ^+^**

**I realize I blab way too much in my ANs, so I've got a new thing going on my profile that will hopefully prove useful. Check it out!**

**As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. What do you think Des is trying to warn Jemma about?**

**Thank you all so much. Here's hoping 2012 will be a good one!**

***No one ever wants to be the 666th reviewer, so if you are, you will receive a prize! Make sure you're logged in or I'll chose the 667th!**


	28. Iris Message

**Two year anniversary post! That is, two year anniversay of post _Through the Looking Glass_. Thanks to all who've stuck with me. :D**

* * *

I left Des' room in a haze, my thoughts swirling all around me. _Beware of James? Why? What was he hiding?_ I looked down at the letter one last time, then folded and shoved it into one of my pockets. I still had the map under my arm. I had pressed on it so hard it was folding in the center. _Oops. _

I located what was left of my gang—minus James—sitting around the table in the dining room. I absentmindedly unrolled the map and placed it on the table and slid into one of the chairs. Alexa gave me a small, reassuring smile. So she _had _been looking into the future.

"What'd you need the map for?" I asked, my eye flickering to Megan. She seemed to be fading, becoming transparent. "And what's happening to you?"

She smiled weakly. "The peanut butter's wearing off," she explained, "I guess that means I've overstayed my welcome, eh? No matter, I just wanted to help you on your quest before I left."

"By doing what, exactly?" Abby asked, twiddling with a ring on her finger.

"Locating the auras of the remaining members of your party, of course!" she said, closing her eyes. She extended a finger to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. "This is roughly where we are." Her finger moved a few inches to the left, to the Badlands. "We're nearing another of our kind." She pointed towards Texas, next. "Zac and the others are somewhere around Dallas, I think." Her finger trailed to an area around the New Mexico/Colorado border. "I sense a strong presence around here." Sarah pulled a marker from a pocket and circled the area as Megan pointed at Oregon. "There is also a presence around Crater Lake."

"Yes!" Sarah muttered under her breath as she circled Crater Lake.

Megan then pointed to San Francisco. "There is someone waiting for you there, I think. I've always felt that presence—it's really strong. It feels, almost… _hopeful_. Whenever I felt really down, I focused on that energy, and I felt better. Weird, huh?"

"Yeah, it is weird," I whispered. _Hopeful, like Hestia? Hope survives best at the hearth. Maybe that's where she is. If we find her, maybe we'll have a better chance of winning?_

"There are lots of smaller readings I'm getting, but I can't be sure if those are just strong monster presences, or maybe some minor godlings?" Megan said, her face becoming grim as she continued, "Don't become too attached with the _minors_—it makes the departure more difficult. But I guess I'm evidence of that, aren't I?"

The redhead was becoming nearly transparent. She winked at us one last time and disappeared, waving as she faded away.

"I miss her already," Donnie said, crossing his little arms.

I wanted to say, _"I think she's still here, we just can't see her,"_ but I was afraid that would only lower their spirits, so instead I agreed with Donnie. "Yeah, bud, me too."

What Megan said troubled me—_don't become too attached with the minors—it makes the departure more difficult. _What did she mean? My eye wavered on Abby. Did that mean Abby was… _doomed?_ But why—why would she be doomed? Was it simply because she didn't hold a part of the original twelve Olympians? Something inside me seemed to confirm the thought—not Poseidon, no—my own sub consciousness, as I recited two important lines of the prophecy in my head:

_Children of the once great twelve;_

_Some of the greatest lives will be cost_

Everything seemed to confirm what I surmised… but why? _Why?_

"Jemma," a light voice whispered as a hand squeezed my shoulder. "It's best not to dwell on the matter. Remember—our fate was decided long before we were born."

"But why, Alexa?" I asked, looking over at the blonde haired girl. Her usually bright eyes were weary, dark circles surrounding them. "Why can't we _choose _our own destinies? Why is everything predetermined?"

She smiled wistfully. "I was born for the mere fact of hosting Apollo. He did not _choose _to inhabit me like Poseidon did with you. No—my parents conceived me under the direction of Hyperi—" She stopped, her eyes widened in fear a hand reached to cover her mouth.

"Hype_ri_on," I finished for her, emphasizing the _ri_.

She slowly lowered her hand, her eyes ashamed. She let a sigh escape her pink lips, then said in a quiet voice, "I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone. I swore on the _River Styx._"

"River Styx?" I choked. Breaking of a bond was punishable by _death_. "Well, you didn't tell me, so it's okay—"

"But you _know_, and that's going to change _everything_," she said, closing her eyes.

"Or maybe it won't change anything," I said quickly.

"Perhaps you're right. Or perhaps it will change the entire outcome," she murmured.

"The outcome? Of what?"

Alexa opened her amber eyes and gently smoothed a wrinkle from her tank top. "It can't be helped. What's done is done," she whispered grimly.

"But wait—we just changed our future, right?" I asked hopefully.

She pursed her lips. "Some things can't be changed. The universe has a funny way of picking and choosing, Jemma. The future is vague, at best—always shifting and rearranging itself. But some things—they're certain, _unchangeable. _Things that were determined eons ago."

"And there are other things that _can_ change," I said, "right?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose, yes."

So maybe this also meant that I could somehow prevent Zac from dying. Either way, I would make damn sure he didn't go down without a fight. I would be right there with him, to my last breath.

"It's time you slept, Jemma," Alexa said, snapping me from my contemplations. She rose from the table.

"Wait, Alexa—"

"Yes?" She turned, cocking an eyebrow.

"You never finished. You know, about why you were born," I said.

She gave me skeptical smile. "That's a story for another time, Jemma. For that matter, why were _you _born? Ever thought about it? Maybe you were born to become the great leader you have. Or maybe it was pure chance that Poseidon found you?" She turned and walked away.

Was it pure luck that Poseidon found me? Or was he drawn to me by the divine forces… Was my mother and father right when they said, _"Poseidon did not pick you because you were in need of saving. Poseidon picked you because he needed saving."_ Am I really here because I'm _supposed _to be? Because that's how it _supposed _to happen? Or is it all one big gamble?

My conversation with Alexa was… I'm not even sure what to say. It was like she had taken off the mask she always wore—her façade, and finally _talked _to me. Like it was the first time she let her guard down and told someone her worries and fears and—what if it _wasn't _supposed to happen like that, and her bonded oath on the Styx was broken? What would happen to her? What would happen to the rest of us—and to the world?

I yawned. It was late, past midnight. I could go talk to James, like I had been doing lately. But I really didn't want to confront him over seeing Megan more alive than he had in quite a long time. And plus, I was supposed to _'Beware' _of him, according to Des. Alexa knew something about it, too. But what was _it? _

I yawned again, and realized how tired I was. I hadn't gotten much sleep—or at least, much _restful _sleep—in the past week. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to go to sleep on your own freewill, so I headed to my room, hoping to catch up on my REM cycle.

I stepped inside, not bothering to turn on the lights as I made my way to my bed. A faint light caught my eye as I slipped my shoes off. Curious, I turned towards it. The gurgling fountain with the coins in the bottom had a luminescent glow coming from it, begging further investigation.

Sighing—and hoping I wouldn't regret this later—I bent over the fountain. The light seemed to be coming from the waterfall, which was also quite curious, as it seemed to come from thin air! Of course, this wasn't much of a shock anymore. Stanger things had happened.

"Please deposit one Drachma," a quiet voice said, though it was scarcely a whisper.

"Where is _this _voice coming from?" I asked myself as I looked around the room. From the _fountain_? "And what's a Drachma?"

"From the fountain," it whispered. "There should be some golden coins at the bottom of the pool. Pick one up and offer it to me."

Uh. I raised a brow and reached into the fountain, grasping a shimmering coin in my fingers. "Who do I offer it to?"

"Never mind, just throw it into the waterfall," it said. It sounded kind of irritated.

Why not? What's the worst that could happen?

I sat the coin on my thumb and flipped it into the waterfall. The coin dissolved and the water shimmered; suddenly, I wasn't looking at water anymore.

Definitely _not_ water.

"Z-zac?" I managed to choke, as I gaped at the red head in front of me. His stormy eyes crinkled as a smile lit up his face.

"Yeah, it's me," he said, his voice husky. "Hey, Jemma."

"How is this—I mean… Is this really happening? Is that really you?" I asked, confused. I reached a hand up to try and touch the water, to see if it was still water.

"No! Don't touch the water! You'll break the connection!" the quiet voice from the fountain shouted. I quickly drew my hand back.

"Ivy, it's okay," Zac said, looking at someone to his left, just out of the shot.

The voice mumbled something I couldn't hear.

"Ivy?"

He turned back to face me. "Yeah, she's Iris reincarnated. Iris is the goddess of rainbows, and she can do this wicked awesome thing called Iris-Messaging, which is what we're doing right now. As long as there's a rainbow, then she can establish a connection."

"Why did I have to throw in the coin?"

"It's traditional, I guess," he muttered, shooing Ivy away with the motion of his hands. She must have left, because he turned back to me and smiled.

His smile faltered. "You look tired. Have you been getting enough sleep? I knew I should have waited until morning. But I was afraid I wouldn't catch you, and—"

"Zac, I'm fine," I assured him with a grin. "It's just been kind of hectic around here lately."

"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning.

"Um, well this new breed of monster called an Anima Comedentis came shortly after you left, and—"

"A _Soul Eater _attacked you? And what happened? You're okay, aren't you?"

"Yeah, of course," I said. "It tried to absorb my soul, but James saved me, like he promised he would."

He tried to smile, but he wasn't convincing me. "Well, I'm glad he's kept up with his end of the bargain." A moment of silence passed as we both thought about the promise James made. His life depended on keeping _mine _safe. "Have you had any other monster attacks?"

I shook my head. "No, strangely enough, we've not." I furrowed my brows. Why _hadn't _we had any more monster attacks? I mean, not that I was complaining, but it seems… odd. "What about you?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, a couple. When we hit Nashville, we ran into a guitar-playing harpy. She wasn't hard to defeat, though. And we picked up a new member there," he said, a shadow seemingly passing over his face. "Silvia…"

"Oh, good! Which god is she hosting?" I asked, then stopped. Something must have happened.

"I'm not sure. A minor one, I think. She uh, we had just crossed the Tennessee/Alabama border, and we ran into a pack of these shadowy panther-like creatures—"

"Like the one that re-broke my ribs and sternum," I muttered, "At The Waffle House, just before we split."

"You thought one was hard to battle—try six. It was like there was one for each of us," he whispered, shivering.

"Were any of you hurt?"

"Just a few cuts and bruises, but Silvia, she—she didn't make it," he stuttered, looking down at his hands. "She was so young—only eleven, but she was so strong. She easily finished off her monster, and saw Natalie struggling, so she went over to help. It was so fast," he remembered, "She didn't even have time to raise her weapon. It had her pinned down before she could let a scream loose. It killed her before we could stop it."

"Oh Zac, I—"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's in the past. She obviously wasn't one of the twelve—"

"_Some of the greatest lives will be cost_," I recited. Our first life had been cost. Just how many more would we lose?

"Just like the prophecy said," he whispered, realization sinking in. You don't think that all the minor—"

"I dunno," I whispered. "Let's hope not."

"We found another one," he said, a glimmer of hope in his electric eyes, "outside of Birmingham. We crashed a wedding."

"Wait, you crashed a wedding? Why?"

"Get this," he said, leaning on his elbows. "A flying pig was chasing us, right?"

"A _flying _pig?" I asked, cocking a brow.

"Yeah, I know, right? Crazy," he said. "We saw this big white tent just sitting in the middle of a field, so we thought we'd run inside it, maybe try to hide from the pig? And we realized this couple was giving their vows. As fate would have it, we ran in right as they asked for objections to the marriage."

"Oh, gods," I murmured.

"We told them we weren't here to object, then the pig swoops down and takes off with the tent and flies away. And we're all left here, with no explanation as to why the tent flew away. They actually proceeded with the wedding, and we were invited to stay for the reception. Free food, we couldn't refuse," he said. "It's a good thing we didn't refuse, either. The wedding planner approached us, and informed us that we owed her $1,000 for the tent, and then her foster daughter came over, her eyes wide. Once the lady left, the girl told us she saw a flying pig take it away."

"She must have thought she was going crazy," I said.

"That's the thing—she was testing us, to see if we saw it. Once we told she wasn't crazy, she said _Duh! _then left to go get her things. Without us telling her who we were or that she _could _come with us. She just assumed she could."

"Who's she hosting?" I asked. "Hera, maybe?"

"Right on the money, babe," he said with a wink. "So, we left Birmingham, and weren't attacked until Jacksonville. This monster was just… weird."

"Weird how?"

"Picture a giant ape throwing giant, explosive bananas at you."

"And what am I comparing this to?" I wondered.

"No comparing—that was the monster. Kronos is really creative with his monsters, isn't he?" Zac joked, though his laugh seemed forced.

"Yeah, creative," I said, not bothering to laugh.

"We met a couple rabid crocodiles in Louisiana. Or were they alligator? I dunno, but they had quite the bite, either way. We found Ivy in Dallas, today."

"Is that where you're camped at? Dallas?" I asked.

"Nah, we managed to make it to a place called Wichita Falls before we stopped for the night," he said. "And where are you?"

"South Dakota—somewhere near the Badlands, I think."

"The Badlands?" he asked. "That's not a place I'd want to be at midnight. I've heard stories about—"

"Don't, Zac. I'm freaked out as it is! Apparently we're supposed to find a god-reincarnate here. I just wonder who it's going to be," I said.

"I dunno. Dionysus, Hephaestus, and Artemis are the only ones left of the twelve Olympians. It could be minor god, I guess," Zac murmured, running a hand through his short hair.

"Yeah," I whispered, rubbing my arm for warmth. The temperature seemed to drop considerably. "I've got this really weird feeling heading into the Badlands."

"Be careful, Jem. I'm not trying to scare you, but I've heard stories passed down by the Lakota people—"

"They're just stories, though," I said quickly, biting my lip.

"Everything else we thought was _just stories_ ended up as truths, didn't they?" he asked, raising a brow.

"That's true," I muttered. The connection started getting static-y, the picture breaking up. "Zac, are you still there?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" he asked, his speech broken.

"I don't know," I whispered, scrambling to my feet. "Zac, there's a god around the New Mexico/Colorado border. Keep an eye out."

The image began to fade. Just before the connection was broken, I heard Zac say, "I love you, Jemma." Then the water returned to normal.

"I—" My words caught in my throat. I shook my head. "You have things to do, Jemma. Don't get distracted." I looked out the small window, gazing across the land. A barren, grassy field seemed to stretch endlessly, reflecting the light of the full moon. Up ahead, rocky hills jutted up from the earth, standing in stark contrast to the night sky.

We were about to enter the Badlands.

* * *

**Your thoughts on the chapter are most appreciated. Full author's note is on my profile. Check it out for more info~**


	29. A Slightly Massive Accident

***waves whilst smiling sheepishly as dust clears* I a_m _still alive, despite popular belief! Today's my three year anniverasry on FFN. Whoa.**

* * *

I sprinted out of my room, down the hall, through the living room, and busted open the door to the driver's cabin.

James didn't even bother glancing up at me.

I looked out the window. The rounded hills seemed to reach towards us, as if trying to swallow us, make us a part of the land. Thunderclouds boomed in the distance, spewing lightning at the hills. The full moon shined down overhead, lighting the land and bleaching the surroundings—like an old black and white movie.

"This isn't safe," I whispered, "traveling through the Badlands at night."

"Unfortunately, we don't have time for rest. We have to be in California in five days," James said, nervously tapping his finger on the steering wheel. His eyes darted across the landscape.

"Those storm clouds are bad news," I murmured, taking a seat next to him.

He nodded. "We're entering Lakota territory. They regarded storm clouds as spirits, you know."

I gulped. "Spirits, huh? Nice ones, I hope."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not familiar with Sioux folklore. But I can't imagine _good _and _nice _in the _Bad_lands."

That's what I was afraid of.

The hills seemed to rise as we approached them—like they were trying to stand. I shivered. What if they _were _trying to stand? And what were _they? _

"I—I'm gonna go wake the others, so we can be on alert," I stuttered, placing my hand on the doorknob.

"No need," James whispered, shaking his hand. "They're probably already awake. I mean, can't you feel it in the air? It's like… something's brewing outside—like some supernatural force is at work."

I rubbed my goose bump arms. "Can we go around the Badlands? I don't like it here. It's not… _safe." _

"We're behind schedule as it is, and this is the quickest way. We can't just—" He stopped midsentence as he slammed on his brakes, swerving to avoid a deer that somehow just appeared in the middle of the road.

A scream escaped my lips as I grabbed onto the passenger seat, trying to escape being thrown around.

James desperately gripped the wheel, trying to correct the bus, but it was spinning out of control. It slid off the edge of the road, hit an embankment, and went sailing through the air.

_This is it, _I thought. _We're going to die in a bus crash, of all things. Nope, not a monster attack. Not by the Titan's hands. A bus accident. _

Before I had a chance to scream again, we stopped, and silence enveloped the bus. I blinked. The bus was on its side; the front glass was shattered, and I was sprawled out behind the driver's seat, several shards of glass most likely piercing my body.

I groaned, then quickly remembered the situation. I slowly rose to my feet, disoriented in the moonlight. James was restrained by his seatbelt, and was partially leaned against the wall, and partially on the steering wheel. He wasn't moving.

"James," I snapped, shaking his shoulder. I tried to pull him up.

"Mhm," he mumbled, making no indication of moving.

"You need to move. We've got to see what happened," I whispered, tugging on his seatbelt.

"Go check on everyone. I'll come as soon as I can," he said through clenched teeth. He still hadn't made any attempt to move. But he was speaking coherently, so that was a good thing.

"Be careful," I said, then propped open the door separating the cabin and the rest of the RV, and lifted myself up. I fell out the door, and onto the floor—well, the _wall_. Everything looked like it had been tossed around—stuff was scattered all over the floor, the refrigerator door was open, and food had escaped from its icy belly. I didn't see anybody, though.

"Guys? Donnie? Sarah? Alexa? Abby?" I called out. "Where are you? Are you hurt?"

"Jemma?" Donnie whimpered. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me!" I shouted, maneuvering over the furniture that had been jumbled during the accident. "Where are you?"

"We're in the hallway," Sarah said. "Hold on, we'll come to you."

I kept attempting to make my way to the hallway. The four of them suddenly materialized at the beginning of the hall, a few feet from me. Well, I say materialized—they really just stepped from the shadows.

Before I could ask, Alexa said, "I gathered everyone in the hallway so nothing would be tossed around to hurt us. And I already checked everyone for injuries. None accounted for."

"Oh, well, okay then," I said, somewhat dumbfounded. "Wait—why didn't you warn us so we could've avoided the crash in the first place?"

The blonde shook her head. "You know I can't do that—it would change _everything. _It was supposed to happen like this."

I gritted my teeth, but dropped the subject. "Um, James is hurt. He's in the driver's cab. Can you go—"

Alexa nodded and leapt over one of the overturned couches. She closed her eyes momentarily and winced. Once she opened them, she said, "Everyone needs to pack up their belongings. We won't be coming back to the bus. Make sure you pack extra clothes and try to grab some food." She bit her lip then continued making her way to James.

"Why won't we be coming back to the bus?" Abby asked, clutching the locket around her neck. Her black hair was frazzled and frizzy and her eyes were puffy and tired. She looked so vulnerable.

I tried to shrug my shoulders nonchalantly, despite the cold chill running up my spine. I attempted to steady my voice. "I dunno, but we ought to listen. Better safe than sorry, right?"

Donnie nodded his head and took one of my hands in his. "What do I need to pack, Jem?"

"A couple sets of clothing—and that includes _underwear and socks_," I said sharply. "Pack lightly. If you can live without it, don't take it, okay? Be careful opening your doors and going into your rooms. Stuff will probably fall."

The three nodded and headed to their rooms. I sighed. Just when I was starting to feel at home, we had to leave, _again. _I ducked into the hallway and positioned myself to open the door. It opened easily, which assured me nothing would fall out. I then hoisted myself up and into it.

Everything was thrown against the wall, which seemed odd that nothing had blocked the door. Maybe Fate was giving me a break. The fountain I used to Iris Message Zac had been torn from the wall and was currently smashed under my bed. My wardrobe was upside down and leaned against the wall, the door unable to be opened. Great—no shirts. Maybe I could find some of Zac's; that's what I used to do if I stayed over at his house when we were younger. Gods, I missed him.

I was able to open my dresser, and pulled out a couple pairs of shorts and undergarments. I stuffed them into a backpack that miraculously wasn't squished, crushed, or otherwise. I think the bag was enchanted—it held_ way _more than it should have. Probably Megan's doing.

I spotted one of my Doc Marten boots and quickly grabbed it. Luckily its mate wasn't too far away—or in a precarious placement. I kicked off my flip-flops and slipped on a pair of socks and then the teal boots. No doubt my feet would be thanking me for the arch support later on.

There wasn't much else in my room that I'd need. Honestly, I hadn't spent much time consciously in it. I opened the door once more and hoped down. A bit late, but I remembered to check my pockets—the picture and letter from my parents was in there, along with the note from Des. I wasn't sure where the mirror was. Alexa or Sarah probably had it.

I realized I was standing on James' bedroom door. I had a mini heart attack, thankful that the door hadn't broken as I landed on it. Someone would need to pack his clothes, but how would they get into it? And once they were in it, how could they get back out? It'd be impossible. Maybe he could fit into Zac's clothes?

I turned on my heels and walked down to the next door—_Zac's. _I positioned myself to open it, then pushed. There was something blocking it, but it wasn't too heavy. Once it opened, a lamp flew out, shattering as it hit the ground. _Oops. _

Making sure nothing else was going to fall, I hoisted myself up into his room.

Moonlight streamed through the small window that was now overhead, its tendrils illuminating everything in odd patches. From what I could make out, the walls were painted to resemble the view from a skyscraper back in Manhattan, at night. The walls twinkled with light, actually.

The furniture seemed to have a 'modern' vibe to it—dark colors and seamless lines, which I didn't think fit Zac much. I supposed the rooms were made to reflect your godly insides, which would explain the nautical feel to my room. I like the theme, though.

All the furniture had fallen to the wall I was standing on, but again—_miraculously—_nothing blocked the door. _Thanks, Fate. _

From what I could tell in the heap of crushed furniture, he didn't have a wardrobe, which meant there must be a closet somewhere. I spotted it in the upper left corner of the room. I'll spare you the details of reaching it and grabbing the shirts that now reside in my bag, because, well—it wasn't fun. I nearly had a heart attack after almost plummeting to my death several times.

One of Zac's quirky habits actually made things easier on me—he always hung his pants in his closet. I managed to grab some of those, too, for James.

Just as I was about to lower myself from Zac's room, a shard of glass caught my eye. A few inches over, there were more pieces, a picture resting below. I gently brushed aside the glass and picked up the photo, smiling. It was of Zac and me back a few years ago. He had a black eye that, unfortunately, _I _had given him. We were wrestling at his house, and well… I sometimes didn't know the limits of my strength. I was missing a tooth, as well, which was also a result of wrestling from that day. Back then, things were so carefree, so… _simple. _I sighed and folded the picture then shoved it in my pocket.

I quickly lowered myself from his room and readjusted my backpack. Alexa was evidentially still with James, but her room was on the bottom, so I couldn't pack up her things. She could share with me or Sarah, I guess. Everyone else could pack for themselves. And besides, I had to pack food, too.

I passed by James' room once more, then made my way out of the hallway. Food was scattered all around the room, smashed and crushed, mostly. I did my best to dig around, grabbing what could be salvaged of the canned and packaged foods.

I then decided to check on James and Alexa, to see if she needed help. I nearly glided over the fallen furniture in my path, my steps silent. As I approached the cabin, I could hear Alexa whispering low and fast: "He's on his way. I can see him coming."

James responded in a quiet whisper, "Are you sure it's _him? _If Duke really is near, that means Kronos—"

"I know his energy like the back of my hand. Things are going to… _complicate_," Alexa said. "You know what I have to do. The consequences are too high to ignore. And Ri said—"

I bit my tongue, but I couldn't hold it in. "Who's Duke?"

I heard _sssshhhhh… _then Alexa called out in a careful voice, "No one of your concern at the moment." Her head appeared in the doorway as she leapt over the frame to the space in front of me. Her eyes were dark, _worried. _

"And why does James get to know? Secrets are deadly to keep—you know that," I spat, not quite in control of my reaction.

Alexa's mouth twitched. "You're one to talk," she said sharply, then turned back to the door opening, where she helped James over onto my side.

_I'm one to talk? About what? _I drew in a sharp breath, like I couldn't get enough air. I felt my heart sputter at an increased rate before skipping several beats. _Oh, like that. _I had forgotten about my deteriorating health. Ever since the Bandersnatch clawed the bejesus out of my chest and face, breathing was becoming difficult. Not all the time, but it was happening much frequently. Yesterday, I had a bit of a coughing fit, and a little blood came up, no bigger than a fingernail—nothing to worry about. _I had to keep telling myself that._

Alexa turned to me. "My and James' rooms are unable to be entered," she said rather coldly. "I presume you packed for us, then?"

I was surprised at the tone of her voice, but decided against matching it. "Yes, I did. You're welcome."

"You're a doll, Jem," James said, placing a false smile on his face. His usual cocky demeanor had vanished, though; replacing it was something _I _was terrified of—_fear. _If Death himself was scared… well, what would we be facing?

"Jemma, we're ready!" Donnie shouted from the shadows of the hallway. He emerged from the darkness, a bag on his back. Abby followed, a messenger back across her shoulder. Sarah loomed in the hallway, though.

"Come on," Alexa muttered, trudging through the mess that once was the living room towards the door, which was currently in ceiling position. James gave my arm a squeeze and took off, too. I trailed his path, dancing over everything with relative ease.

Abby and Donnie approached Alexa as she ran towards the wall; her feet gracefully shot her into the air when she pushed off the wall, where she grabbed onto the doorframe. She slowly shifted her weight to one arm, then reached with the other to the door handle, which she gave a shove. It flew open, letting a stream of moonlight in.

She let go, landing with effortlessness in front of James and I. She addressed him: "I think I can pull everyone up, if you can hand them to me."

I started to object, because she was so tiny, there was no way she could lift any of us. But James obviously thought differently. He nodded and motioned for Donnie.

_Okay._

Sarah was still in the darkness, where I could only see her silhouette. She held something in her hands.

"Sarah, you alright?" I asked. "Are you hurt?" I took a step towards her.

"I'm sorry, Jemma! I'm so sorry!" she said in fury. "I didn't know—I mean, I didn't think about it—I—"

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, then stopped. _The mirror. _

She tentatively stepped closer to me, her hand outstretched. I closed the gap, and snatched the looking glass from her. I was afraid to look.

"It—it's not so bad. Only a tiny crack," she said.

I looked down at the tarnished handle, rising slowly to the dark glass itself. Then I saw it. _It—_the jagged, inch long crack in the lower right corner. "Oh," was all I could muster.

"It's just a crack! It'll still work, right, Jem?" Sarah asked, peering into it. "It's gotta work…"

I stared into the perpetual blackness of the mirror while I was screaming inside _''TNOTWORKPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE.' _"I don't know," I said numbly. I placed the mirror into my bag, surrounding it in with a cushion of clothes.

Sarah's eyes widened, but she said nothing. James called her over, and I turned. Donnie and Abby were nowhere to be seen. Did she seriously _lift them up? _

James cupped his hands and told Sarah to put her foot in them. He lifted her up, and Alexa grabbed her outstretched hand. She easily lifted her to where Sarah could grab onto the frame, then gave her a push up.

"Sweet mother Rhea," I mumbled. "How in the—"

"Training," Alexa replied, still stiffly. James' strength was impressive, too. Not just anyone could lift a body like he did. "The both of us," she added.

"When did you guys have time to train like that?"

"I'm getting tired. James, hand me her, will you?"

James held out his hands and I stepped up. "You're dodging my question," I said as the Hades-reincarnate lifted me to Alexa.

She grabbed my wrist with a firm grip and hoisted me 'til I was level with her. I grabbed the frame and started to pull myself up.

Alexa leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "I knew James _before _this quest."

"Wha—" My hands started to slip. _What the hell? Or, Hades? Or—_

Alexa grabbed me and gave me a push as she whispered, "Not a word of this to anyone. You shouldn't know." Then I was on top of the bus.

James and the suddenly-very-moody-Alexa joined us. I have no idea how they managed, but they did, and I was in no mood to look at them. _How do they know each other? _

I gazed at the imposing land in front of us. The storm gathered over the Badlands was growing and becoming more violent. And we had to go through it.

The hills just _started. _I mean, out of nowhere, they just rose up. The dirt and rock was washed-out in the moon's tendrils, creating a very unassailable fortress. A dash of gold caught my eye, and I turned towards it.

A golden deer—and I do mean golden in the most literal sense, like fourteen karat—stood in the road, staring (pardon the pun) doe-eyed at us.

James followed my gaze, and a grimace formed on his face. "That's the bastard that jumped in front of the bus!"

Everyone else saw it, too. "Is it golden?" _Yes, Donnie, that's how it seems. _ "Is it hurt?" _'Course not, it only totaled the bus, Sarah. But it's GREAT. _"Is it a girl?" _Who even cares?_

Alexa's sour mood seemed to lift as a smile graced her pale lips. "Artemis' Golden Deer. I feel her presence, my other half, my twin." Her voice seemed different as she said that, ancient. _Apollo._ "Come on!"

She leapt off the bus and started after the deer with renewed energy.

"I wonder what it feels like to find your immortal half," I whispered to James as Donnie and Sarah slid off the bus. They yelled for us to come, and Abby took off with them.

James shrugged. "I dunno. Persephone was killed before I could meet her."

"What about Amphitrite? What do you think he/she would be like?"

His eye twitched. "A jerk." He sat down, about to slide off the bus.

"You think so?" I asked, sitting down beside him. "How do you know?"

"Uh, he's probably just not a very good guy," he mumbled and pushed off. He landed on his feet, and held out his arms to catch me. I must admit, I was thankful for the help. Gods, my chest hurt.

"But why do you say that?" We started walking towards the deer.

"Just a… hunch, okay?" James said hurriedly, running a hand through his raven locks.

_Secrets don't make friends._

Ahead, Alexa made it to the deer. It allowed her to pet it. _Weird. _Once it caught site of James and I, it took off into the woods.

"You have a wonderful effect on animals, James," I said, jogging the rest of the distance to my group, who was staring into the woods. Granted, it was dark, and I'm sure my one eye was deceiving me, because standing next to the deer with eyes like the moon, stood a boy with the same silvery eyes, holding a glowing bow in his hands, aimed straight for us. Could it be the Duke Alexa and James were talking about, or someone new entirely?

Before I could ponder further on that question, a crackling bolt of white hot energy burst across the sky—seemingly from the gathering storm clouds over the Badlands; it jagged through the air straight to the overturned bus. The lightning connected with the metal frame, and the bus lit up in a fiery explosion, sending me diving to the ground, covering my head.

August thirteenth, just past three a.m., and I already knew it was going to be one of _those _days_. _But I was used it, after all, and welcomed it like an old friend. One of those old friends that makes you question why your bond ever existed, but a friend nonetheless. _Excellent._

* * *

**Gods, I'm so sorry for the loooooooong absense. Writer's block struck me bad. Though, it also helped me write several short pieces in which I entered in some writing contests that I won. :D In fact, one of my recent prizes is a signed copy of "Unholy Night" by Seth Graham-Smith!**

**There's a poll on my profile asking about the length of chapter you prefer and where you'd like me to write author's notes at. Please vote on it!**

**Like I have promised from the begining - I will finish this. Just stick with me. :)**

**Oh, and there's a special message on my profile for all of you amazing people. Thank you all.**

**Any ideas about the mysterious silver-eyed boy? What about this Duke character? Are they they same person, or two different ones entirely?**

**I'd love to hear your thoughts about the chapter, so leave me a review!**


End file.
